What If: Alternate Ending to Hogsmeade Kiss
by LJS4everandAlways2
Summary: What if James Potter remembered his vision? What if Remus Lupin remembered his kidnapping? What if Sirius Black realized the truth about Peter Pettigrew sooner? What if Lily Potter never sacrificed herself to save Harry? AU
1. Escaping Death

Summary: On October 31st, 1981, what if James Potter remembered his vision with his best friend in a ratty prison uniform? What if Remus Lupin remembered his kidnapping in the Forbidden Forest? What if Sirius Black realized the truth about Peter Pettigrew, before it was too late? What if Lily Potter never sacrificed herself to save Harry? An alternate ending written remorsefully for the readers of Hogsmeade Kiss. R/R

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JKR (aka pure brilliance) does. Don't sue me because I'm imaginative. :-)

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October 31st…

"Hey," Remus greeted as Sirius came into the apartment, throwing his leather jacket and motorbike keys on a nearby chair.

"Hello," Sirius replied, collapsing onto the sofa. "Any sugar high kids come by yet, begging for more sweets?"

Chuckling, Remus said, "A couple, but it seems pretty quiet tonight." Sighing, he added, "I wonder what Harry's Halloween costume is…"

Guilt once again stabbed at Sirius heart and he knew he couldn't leave his best friend out in the dark. "I've got to tell you something, but you have to promise you can't get mad…" Sirius said quietly.

Concerned, Remus nodded, saying, "No, I won't get mad. What is it?"

Sirius decided it was best for him just to get it out instead of trying to think of a way to dance around it. But he couldn't tell him about Peter, no one could know about that to ensure James and Lily's safety. "I lied to you before…I never went to Dumbledore asking where Lily and James were. They came to me and asked me to be apart of the Fidelius Charm and be Secret Keeper. They wanted you also but Dumbledore said only one. So for the past few months I have always been at their house, trying to help them in anyway I can," Sirius paused for breath, "I've been feeling so guilty about not telling you, and I am sorry. I'm going into hiding so Voldemort can't find me. So I guess this is goodbye…"

Remus just stared at his best friend for a long time; something was very unsettling in the pit of his stomach. He knew Sirius was leaving something out, and Remus could not place his finger on it. He saw Sirius run a hand through his hair nervously and Remus narrowed his eyes. Now he knew he was lying. "What are you hiding from me?" Remus asked quietly.

Putting on the puzzled expression he could, Sirius said, "What do you mean?"

"Sirius, I've known you since we were eleven. Do you know how many times you've tried to keep a secret from me?" Remus said simply. Sirius' mouth dropped open momentarily before he realized what he was doing and snapped it shut once more. With a small smirk, Remus added, "I understand if you don't want to tell me, but I have been suspicious these past months. If it's concerning Lily and James' safety, don't you think I should know? They are my friends as much as they are yours and I want to help them."

Casually, Remus turned back to the book he was reading, knowing he just struck Sirius and he would eventually spill the beans. With a groan, Sirius raked his hand through his hair once more and pressed his hand to his forehead. "What I said was true," Sirius began quietly. Remus looked up, keeping his book open. "Just yesterday we switched to Peter because no one would suspect him. They wanted you but I said no…everyone knows how close you are to them, just the same as me. Anyone we've corresponded with knows that no one's seen Peter in months and months, long before Lily and James went into hiding. He won't be targeted." Sirius paused for a moment, then continued, "I paid for a room in a muggle motel a few cities away. He's hiding out, just in case. I'll go into hiding also, the only person besides us five that will know about the switch is Dumbledore. Lily and James are telling him tomorrow."

After Sirius finished, Remus just sat there, staring at his best friend. "Why not tell Dumbledore today?" Remus asked curiously.

Shrugging, Sirius replied, "We tried to Floo him, but some teacher told us he was out until tomorrow and no one knows where he's at."

Nodding, Remus closed his book and sat it down, resting his elbows on his knees and cradling his head in his hands. He had a bad feeling, something wasn't right. Remus knew Sirius had told him the whole truth; he just couldn't place what it was. He heard Sirius get up from his seat and sit beside him on the couch. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Those words struck a nerve and Remus jumped up immediately. He looked at Sirius, who was staring at him curiously, as a memory came into focus. The scene played out in his head and Remus gasped in shock.

He was in the forest, back in seventh year. Somebody was putting him under the Cruciatus Curse. But everything was blurry and the voices were muffled. He couldn't see what was going on. Suddenly, it snapped into focus as he saw a bunch of hooded figures leave the clearing he was at.

_But one was left standing there. "I'm sorry," Peter muttered._

"_Don't talk to me traitor," Remus spat._

"_Please Remus, I had no choice…"_

"_Yes you did! You didn't have to join!"_

"_But there was so much power involved, you guys have always treated me rotten."_

"_We have never treated you rotten! We play around and make fun of each other! We have been your best friends since forever! And you just turn sides, and join up with that idiot!"_

"_Remus, listen to me!"_

"_No! Have you not seen how much pain he has caused? Did you even see James after his parents died? Do you remember the reaction to Claudia's death? You were even friends with Claudia! How could you?"_

"Crucio_!" Peter yelled, his voice full of fury. He let Remus scream for a few minutes, then lowered his wand. "Don't ever insult me again! I have more power than you'll ever have._

"_You don't have power, you have nothing. You're a coward. Here's what I think of you," Remus rasped, then spit in his face._

"_You'll regret that, someday you'll see what I can do!" Peter said angrily, then turned on his heel and headed towards the castle._

"Oh, God…" Remus said, putting a trembling hand to his mouth.

"What is it?" Sirius said with concern etched in his voice. Remus had temporarily lost the power of speech. Getting up from his seat at the couch, Sirius walked over to his friend. "What's wrong?"

Clearing his throat, Remus looked Sirius in the eye. "We have to act fast. Remember in seventh year when I was kidnapped?" Sirius' eyes darkened as he nodded his head. "I followed Peter because I didn't believe he was getting his book. He went down a hidden tunnel. Death Eaters were meeting there and they caught me. They tied me up and took me to the Forbidden Forest and tortured me. But Sirius, Peter was one of them." Sirius tried to interrupt but Remus cut him off. "Listen, he said he joined because he wanted power. And because of the prophecy Voldemort wanted Harry. If Peter wanted power and he knew where Lily and James were hiding, he would immediately go to Voldemort with the information."

All Sirius could do was just stare at Remus in shock. "It's my fault…" he whispered to himself, then shook his head. "We'll split up. Since you have no idea where Peter's hideout is, I'll go and see if the rat is there. You go to Godric's Hollow and get James, Lily, and Harry out."

"You need to tell me the address again," Remus said. Sirius quickly relayed the information and ran to the door, grabbing his jacket and motorbike keys. "No! Apparating would be faster," Remus said, stopping Sirius in his tracks. With a quick nod, Sirius was gone in a pop, Remus right behind him.

Once Sirius arrived at the motel, wondering momentarily how he didn't splinch since his mind was a jumble of fury, he slipped the night clerk a few pounds in exchange for the key to room 214. Sirius burst into the room and searched it hastily. It seemed as if the last person to be in the room was the maid.

Peter must have already scurried his way to Voldemort and relayed the address. _If I ever get my hands on him, I'll kill him…_Sirius thought as he sat on the bed, trying to get rid of the blinding red anger in front of his eyes so he could safely Apparate to the Potter's home.

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"Dada!" Harry said, giggling. James was balancing on his head. He suddenly lost his balance and fell over, his face red as can be.

Lily was laughing. "I never knew you could do that!"

"It's just another useless fact about me that you'll have to put up with," James said, wearing a classic Marauder grin.

Lily laughed and put Harry on the floor. He stood and clumsily walked over to a red fire truck, plopping down and pushing it around, making siren noises. There were many trick or treaters outside in their neighborhood.

"I wish I could give them candy and see all their little costumes," Lily said, sighing.

James' face fell. He scooted over to Lily and gave her a hug. "It's for our protection, you know that," he whispered into her hair.

Lily just nodded, thinking of the threat on their lives, and Harry's. "Please don't leave me James," Lily whispered, tears escaping her eyes.

Laying his head on her shoulder, James said, "You know I can't promise that. I will fight to make sure I am always by your side, but I can't promise," James pulled away, kissing her lightly and taking her hand, holding up her engagement ring to her face. "You remember what this says?" he asked.

Lily nodded and smiled. "Of course I do. We will always be together, in life or death, as one…"

"And that's how it will be. I will always be with you, no matter where you are," James said quietly.

The night got later as Lily and James continued to play with Harry, too nervous to sleep like so many nights before that. Soon they couldn't hear any trick or treaters outside. "Maybe we should put Harry to bed," Lily said.

Alarms went off in the back of James' mind. "No, let's just stay up a little longer together," he muttered, not knowing why he said it. Then all of a sudden, a memory hit him full force. James moaned, clutching his head. He was remembering something from a dream.

He saw Sirius, the older Sirius in a ratty prison uniform and no laughter in his eyes. "Peter Pettigrew sold Lily and James to Voldemort!" Sirius said in a raspy voice. Then it all came back to James. A sudden dread filled his stomach and moved to his heart. Peter was their Secret Keeper.

"Lily!" James said, but before he could get a word out, there was a noise outside. Lily and James froze. James pulled out his wand, but Lily couldn't find hers. She quickly scanned the room but knew it wasn't around.

Feet were running up driveway and onto the porch. The door burst open and Remus ran into the living room. James nearly dropped his wand in surprise. "Remus? What are you doing here?" he asked as Lily visibly relaxed.

Waving his hand to stop him from talking, Remus said in a rush, "Sirius told me everything and I remembered the forest and Peter's a Death Eater and he's your Secret Keeper and he's gone and told Voldemort, you have to get out now!"

"What?" Lily asked, completely puzzled, but James got the gist after he remembered Sirius from the future.

"Voldemort knows where we are, I'll explain later. Get the Floo, we're leaving now and going to Dumbledore's office whether he's there or not," James said hurriedly, thinking of the emergency exit Dumbledore set up for the Potters. James scooped Harry off the floor and passed him to Lily. Harry had been very involved in playing and started screaming when he was pulled away from his activity.

Everyone in the room halted their actions, though, when footsteps much slower than the previous ones made their way to the front door. "Hurry!" Remus hissed, throwing Floo powder into the fire and shoving Lily and Harry in.

Lily looked as if she didn't want to leave her husband behind; she glanced at the impending footsteps and then at James, pleading with her eyes. Giving a soft smile, James said, "Go, I'm right after you." Lily gulped and nodded firmly, before saying, "Dumbledore's Office!" clearly.

Immediately, James grabbed quite a large handful of Floo powder and threw it into the fire. There was a bitter laugh outside the door, a laugh belonging to Voldemort. Remus looked at James and said hurriedly, "It's not going to be comfortable but we have to Floo together to get out." Both men leapt into the fireplace and gripped each other tight as the unanimously said, "Dumbledore's office!" In a flash of green they were gone at the exact moment Voldemort muttered, "_Reducto!_" to blast the door to the home open.

James and Remus toppled out of the fireplace in heap, landing rather painfully into a dark empty office. "Get out of the way!" Lily said sternly as she stepped over them, picking up James' dropped wand off the ground and sealing the fireplace shut so no one could come through.

Once that was done Lily shakily collapsed into a nearby armchair with a fussy Harry still in her arms. "That was so close, so close…" she kept muttering to herself as Remus and James composed themselves. "This could've been our night; we could've all died. Oh James, we _would_ have died tonight." Lily said teary eyed, cradling Harry close and looking like she was about to faint from shock.

"She needs rest, if anything else frightens her she's going to be out like a light," James muttered, kneeling next to the armchair she was sitting in and taking her hand.

It was at the precise moment McGonagall threw the doors to the office open, clad in a dressing gown with her hair down in waves, and yelled, "WHAT is the meaning of this!" Lily shrieked from the sudden noise and passed out cold, James groaning and taking a wailing Harry from his mother's arms.

Remus hurried to McGonagall ushering her to a chair, and saying, "We have many mixed stories, I think we all need to talk about what happened tonight."

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Voldemort stepped into the threshold of the house, surveying it with distaste. He didn't like the feeling of it; it was something very foreign and it didn't settle well with him. "Mr. and Mrs. Potter?" Voldemort called with a sneer. "This is no time for hide and seek." All was quiet except for the clock ticking on the wall and the fire in the fireplace crackling merrily.

Frowning, Voldemort stepped outside and waved his wand, causing the walls to appear invisible so he could search the house effectively. But it was still; there was not one living soul inside of it. Voldemort grit his teeth, Wormtail had told him wrong, and it turned out he was still loyal to his friends. _This could all be a trap for me,_ Voldemort thought to himself.

The Dark Lord heard a faint pop behind him and someone muttering, "Damn it, this is not good." He whirled around, seeing one of James Potter's sidekicks, Sirius Black, standing in the yard of the home.

Former Tom Riddle scoffed and held his wand aloft, saying dangerously, "Where have they gone? Where are the Potters?"

Sirius looked confused for a moment then mustered up enough Gryffindor courage to smile and casually walk back a few steps. "Sorry, no time to chat. Let's do have lunch sometime." And before Voldemort could respond Sirius Disapparated from the site.

After unsteadily landing in Hogsmeade, Sirius took off in a full run up the path to Hogwarts, through the grand gates and up to the castle entrance. He didn't pause until he guessed a password to the entrance of Dumbledore's office, which turned out to be a pretty lucky guess, and then took the steps _three_ at a time, bursting into the room.

Remus and James had just finished telling McGonagall what happened and had even woken up Lily so she could fully understand everything. Sirius entered dramatically and told them in a rush that Peter had not been at the muggle motel and Voldemort was at Godric's Hollow.

"Do you think he knows where we went?" Lily asked Sirius.

Shaking his head, Sirius replied, "It didn't seem like it. Even if he did, there isn't much he could do about it, Voldemort can't get into Hogwarts."

"We need to talk to Dumbledore, some witch told us he wasn't coming back until tomorrow," James told McGonagall.

Nodding, McGonagall replied, "He is away and expected back tomorrow, although I don't know where he is. You'll have to stay the night here, since it isn't safe anywhere else. I'll preparing sleeping arrangements for you."

Grinning slightly, Remus said, "That won't be necessary, we know a place in the castle we can stay." McGonagall looked at him questionably, as did the rest of the group. "No worries, Prof—er—Minerva. It's nothing that will disturb the normal schedule of the school. We don't want to inconvenience you." Almost exasperatedly, McGonagall shrugged her shoulders and let them be.

"What on earth are you talking about, Remus?" Lily asked.

"We can stay in the Marauder Headquarters, of course," Remus said obviously.

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**Author Notes:** Yes, I finally wrote it. Tell me how you like it so far and please tell me everything you hated. I'm guessing there will be two more chapters in this story, although I have an idea for the next one, I have no clue how I will end it. I have a very sad ending in mind that I don't really want to use, so if anyone has any suggestions on how to end it, that would be spectacular.

R/R!


	2. Think what could've become of us

Summary: On October 31st, 1981, what if James Potter remembered his vision with his best friend in a ratty prison uniform? What if Remus Lupin remembered his kidnapping in the Forbidden Forest? What if Sirius Black realized the truth about Peter Pettigrew, before it was too late? What if Lily Potter never sacrificed herself to save Harry? An alternate ending written remorsefully for the readers of Hogsmeade Kiss. R/R

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JKR (aka pure brilliance) does. Don't sue me because I'm imaginative. :-)

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It took a while for the shock to set in that a) Lily, James, and Harry had almost been killed and b) that Peter, their best friend since they were eleven, betrayed their whereabouts. "How did we not see he was with them?" James asked for the hundredth time while conjuring a crib for Harry to sleep in.

Shrugging, Remus replied, "We should've seen a change from absolutely pathetic to power hungry, no offence." Then after a short pause, Remus added, "Actually I take that back, I want to offend him."

Growling under his breath, Sirius said, "If I ever get my hands on that little rat I'll rip him apart."

"Don't," Lily said quietly. Lily had the ability to silence a room and she did; all three men turned towards her. "You were close to getting sent to Azkaban tonight, Sirius. No one but us knew you were Secret Keeper. What if we were killed tonight, huh? You would have been immediately carted off."

The Marauders reflected on that for a moment, none of them had realized the impact that night could've had. "I almost didn't tell Remus we switched to Peter," Sirius said, running a hand through his hair, "What if I had just told him I was going into hiding?"

"You would've taken your motorbike instead of Apparating to Peter's hideout," Remus said, running a sequence of events through his mind, "That would take twice as long. Peter wouldn't be there, you would go to James and Lily's house and find them dead."

Shuddering, James finished, "And then you would be arrested. God, think of what could've become of us…"

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There were various conversations being passed around a rectangular table in the Room of Requirements among the Order members, but all came to a sudden halt when Dumbledore arrived. "Thank you all for responding to this impromptu meeting so efficiently. I know our next meeting was scheduled two weeks from now, but an incident occurred last night that confirmed my suspicions on a very sketchy subject.

"But first, let us welcome to new members to the Order. Allow me to introduce Arthur and Molly Weasley." The group turned to the two chairs sitting nearest to Dumbledore and smiled graciously at the tired looking couple. "Arthur works at the Ministry in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department and can help us with any strange muggle pranks that could be traced back to Death Eaters. Molly is mother of seven children—"

"Seven!?!" James, Sirius, and Lily all said in unison, for they seemed to be the only ones who didn't know who the Weasley's were. Remus had worked with Arthur on one of his missions.

Smiling courteously, Dumbledore said, "Yes, seven. In fact, her eldest, Bill, will be attending Hogwarts next year."

With a small 'tut', Lily turned toward Molly and said admirably, "I don't know how you do it. I have one and that's hard enough. What are their names?"

"Let's see, I have six boys and one girl," Molly said, ticking off children on her fingers. "Ginny, she's our youngest, almost three months old and her brother Ron who's nineteen months. Then we have twins, Fred and George, who are three and an absolute handful. Then Percy, an angel, is five and his older brother Charlie is eight. And as Dumbledore said, Bill who is ten, will be starting Hogwarts next year," Molly finished, tearing up slightly at the last bit.

Lily was looking at Molly as if she was the Queen herself. "How do you do it? Our son, Harry, is fifteen months and that's hard enough."

Molly smiled kindly at the new mother and said, "It's tiring but we love it."

Picking up where he left off, Dumbledore said, "We've been working with Molly and Arthur for the past few months and they are finally able to join our group.

"Now, down to business. As I said at the beginning of the meeting, there was an occurrence of sorts last night. Everyone knew at least the basics about the situation with the Potter's, correct?" Slowly, the members nodded their heads in turn. "Sirius was their Secret Keeper but two days earlier they switched to Peter Pettigrew in hopes no one would guess him to hold such a secret, intending to inform me today. Peter was the spy in our group and he told Voldemort where Lily and James were hiding."

Murmuring broke out among the group members. "How do you know Peter told Voldemort?" asked Dedalus Diggle.

The whisperings ceased and all heads turned towards Dumbledore. "Because Voldemort attacked the Potter's last night. Luckily Remus and Sirius caught onto what Peter had done and helped the Potter's escape."

Dead silence followed Dumbledore's words. "Attacked?" asked Sturgis Podmore. Lily and James nodded in unison. "And you escaped?" The couple nodded again. Sturgis whistled and said, "You two are bloody lucky."

"Wait a minute," said Emmeline Vance, holding a finger up as if to silence someone, "We know you went into hiding, but we never knew why Voldemort was targeting you."

Lily and James glanced at each other, then looked at Dumbledore as if asking permission for something. "I think it would be wise if you shared, that way we can get fellow friends insight on the problem," Dumbledore said with a slight shrug, sitting down.

James let out a small breath and said uncertainly, "Well, uh, I know this doesn't sound very reliable, since this branch of magic isn't taken extremely seriously, but it's enough to make Voldemort come after us, after Harry."

"Harry?" chuckled Elphias Doge with misgiving. "What would You-Know-Who want with an infant?"

"Well," Lily said, "There was a prophecy predicted in Dumbledore's presence, basically saying there was someone who would have the power to defeat Voldemort-" many people around the table cringed "-who would be born at the end of July to parents who had defied him three times. And Voldemort would know about this and pick him as his equal but this person would have a power that Voldemort won't know about. The last bit said neither can live while the other survives," Lily finished shakily.

"Voldemort somehow found out about the prophecy but only heard the first part," James picked up, "and discovered our family and Harry held the requirements and picked our son as his equal."

Huffing, Mad Eye Moody adjusted himself in his seat and spoke to the disbelieving faces. "It makes perfect sense. Even if this prophecy isn't true You-Know-Who won't take the chance of an enemy being in his path to world domination. He would want to kill Harry when he was young instead of waiting until he was older and stronger. Two other wizards wouldn't stand in his way."

Dumbledore inclined his head thankfully to Moody and said, "Exactly. And we won't take any risks either. We will base what course of action we take next on the trust that the prophecy is accurate, which I believe it is. In that case their son, Harry, is the key to defeating Voldemort, for he has grown to powerful to stop at this point."

Lily made a scoffing sound, interrupting Dumbledore. The heads around the table turned toward her. Looking embarrassed, Lily said, "Sorry, but…well, it sounds like you plan on using my son as a weapon." James shot Lily a look that plainly said he thought she spoke her mind a little too much.

Smiling, Dumbledore said, "Not as a weapon, as a savior for all of us." Lily nodded sheepishly and James grabbed her hand with a squeeze.

"Now," Dumbledore continued, "We need a place for the Potters to hide, if anyone has any suggestions…"

Murmuring broke out as the members discussed places they knew amongst themselves. "Albus," Arthur Weasley said loudly over the babble, which quieted slightly as he spoke, "If it's okay with the Potters, we would be happy to offer our home for as long as they need protection."

Dumbledore turned to the Potters for conformation. "You would do that for us?" James asked, very surprised. Molly and Arthur nodded, Molly smiling. Lily stood, tears in her eyes, and gave Molly and Arthur each a warm hug.

"Things are going to change around here," Dumbledore said as Lily went back to sit down. "We are going to be more prepared, more cautious, more organized…anything we can do to get better will happen. We will make Voldemort believe we have disbanded and given up when in reality we are getting stronger. We need one hundred percent from each member with complete and total secrecy. I hope you are all ready."

A few minutes later the meeting was dismissed and Dumbledore told Lily and James to get Harry and meet him in his office while Sirius and Remus were assigned to go with Molly and Arthur to magically expand their house. But Sirius and Remus came up to Dumbledore after the meeting was over, signaling Molly and Arthur to wait for them. "Albus, we have a favor to ask," Remus started.

"Of course, Remus, what is it?" Dumbledore asked, looking tired.

"We want to start a new mission, we want to devote all of our time to try and find Peter," Sirius said plainly.

"Sirius and I know him better than anyone else, the Ministry couldn't do any better," Remus said quickly, "and Sirius is an Auror, he has the training and experience to find him."

Sighing, Dumbledore said, "You may, but Sirius, you must ask the Ministry for permission and you cannot let them know Remus will be accompanying you. I will still pay you Remus and under no circumstances are you to kill him, no matter how tempting it is. Bring him to the Ministry." The friends looked at each other and nodded. "Molly and Arthur are waiting. Good luck to both of you."

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"Go quickly," said Dumbledore, withdrawing his wand with the arm not holding Harry up, "Take only what you need. There could be Death Eaters assigned to watch the house." Lily and James nodded and ran inside the house at Godric's Hollow.

James ran upstairs, shrinking their bed, dresser, amore, end tables and Harry's crib. He then conjured a bag and stuffed Harry's mobile, his little broom and some of his favorite toys inside. Next he ran back to the bedroom and into the closet, taking work, dress, and casual robes out with a few of his favorite muggle attire. Lastly, he ran into the study and grabbed their Gringotts vault key and shrunk most of the books in the study, casting a charm on the bag to make it seem weightless.

Meanwhile Lily was downstairs, getting family photographs and heirlooms out of the living room, picking up some of Harry's toys lying in front of the fireplace that he had been playing with last night. She heaved the bag up the stairs and ran into the bedroom, shoving her jewelry box inside along with the star box that James gave her in school. Lily grabbed a great deal of clothes out of her closet then rushed to Harry's room, seeing the crib and toys mostly gone. She grabbed a few more toys and stuffed animals she thought Harry would want and stuffing handfuls of baby clothes into her sack.

Lily skirted to a halt in the entrance hall where James was grabbing their cloaks and his broomstick out of the hall closet. He saw Lily struggling with the bag and breathing heavily. With a laugh, James cast a the same weightless charm on her bag, saying, "I can't believe you didn't think of that, Miss Valedictorian."

Rolling her eyes, Lily said, "Just get outside, Dumbledore's waiting."

"Good," Dumbledore said as the couple arrived back outside, Lily taking Harry from the old man, "We need to get a move on." Dumbledore quietly relayed the Weasley's address and all three Disapparated, appearing moments later in front of the Weasley's house.

Hurriedly, Dumbledore said, "I trust you have everything you need, but if not please owl me so I know you're going back to Godric's Hollow so I can be on full alert. If that is all then…" Dumbledore made a move to Disapparate but James stopped him.

"Sir, if I could speak with you for a moment?" James asked.

Lily nodded slightly and handed Harry to James. "I'll just take these inside then," said Lily quietly, picking up the two bags and walking inside the Burrow.

"I am in rather of a hurry, James," Dumbledore said patiently with kind eyes.

"I know, Albus, but I just want to apologize for something," James said with an ashamed air about him, "We should've picked you as Secret Keeper in the first place. It's not that we didn't trust you or anything…I don't even remember our reasons for not choosing you. But we wouldn't be in this predicament right now and you wouldn't have more work to do and Sirius and Remus wouldn't be heading off to God knows where, hunting down Peter."

Smiling, Dumbledore pocketed his wand and placed a hand on James' shoulder warmly. "No need to apologize, I'm just relieved your family is okay. I don't know if you realize how close you were to disaster last night, but it is truly a miracle you, Lily, and Harry did make it. All these events happened for a reason, even though we may not see it just yet. Apologies are not needed."

"Thank you, sir," James said, shaking Dumbledore's hand in farewell, then headed into the house.

The Burrow was very cluttered, rambunctious, and homey. There were four red haired children running around screaming as Sirius acted like a monster, growling and stomping after the munchkins. The oldest of the four was feebly punching Sirius leg in attempt to fight him. Sirius just slung him over his shoulder and chased the other three. One was very young, around Harry's age, toddling away and screeching in laughter. The other two looked just a like and were running in the same circle, waving their hands in the air dramatically. Another child was sitting at the shabby yet large kitchen table, reading a book that seemed slightly advanced for his age. The eldest of the red haired children was in the living room, dancing around with a red haired infant. James spotted Lily with Remus, watching the chaos and laughing with Molly and Arthur.

James carefully made his way through the kitchen and to the living room, laughing as Sirius waved excitedly to him as the kid on his shoulder pounded his back and giggling. "Hey there," Lily said when James survived the battle and met his wife and best friend, "Don't you love it here? I was just telling Molly this is exactly what we've always wanted, a huge family."

"Well it's not exactly what we wanted, I never wanted a Sirius terrorizing my kids," James said with a laugh as Sirius turned and glared at him.

"Harry seems to be very unsure of himself," Remus said, staring at Harry. Lily and James looked down and smiled at Harry's confused yet curious expression.

"So James," Arthur said, "Where exactly do you work in the Ministry? I know Sirius is an Auror."

Passing Harry to Lily, James stepped closer to Arthur and said, "I'm an analyst, same department as Sirius."

"Dad!" said a young voice and James looked as the kid holding the infant came running over to Arthur, "I'm tired of holding Ginny, can I go ride my broomstick?"

Taking the infant named Ginny out of his son's arms, Arthur said, "You'll have to sneak out now if you don't want to be bothered by Charlie. But first, I want you to meet the people who will be staying with us for a while. This is James Potter, his wife Lily Potter, and their son Harry. James and Lily, this is Bill, our oldest child, oh I mean, young man." Arthur had to switch his words quickly, for Bill gave him a reproachful look at being called a child.

"Do you play Quidditch?" James asked interestedly.

"A little, but not too much, I just like to fly. Charlie is the Quidditch expert," Bill said simply, then turned to his dad and asked, "Can I go now?" With a nod, Bill sneaked out the door.

Lily scooted next to Arthur and held Harry close to Ginny, who was gazing at the ceiling. "Harry this is Ginny, a baby."

Harry looked at Ginny inquisitively and then pointed and said, "Be!"

As Harry and Ginny were getting to know each other, Molly said, "Sirius and Remus helped us expand the living room and the kitchen. We added a bedroom for you two and we figured Ron and Harry could share a room since they are about the same age.

"I want you two and Harry to meet all the boys." Molly began to break up the craziness and got all the boys settled. "This is Percy," Molly said, pointing to the boy reading at the table, "These two are our twins, Fred and George, Charlie is the one who was on Sirius, and Ron is the littlest one, around Harry's age."

Setting him on the ground, Lily gave a Harry a slight nudge to go talk to Ron. Harry waddled over to Ron and waved to him, saying, "Hi!"

"What's your name?" Molly prodded Ron.

"Ronald Bisus Weasley!" Ron said triumphantly, throwing his arms in the air.

Smiling, Molly said, "It's really Ronald Bilius Weasley, he just can't say his middle name properly."

"Harry!" Harry said his own name, mimicking Ron and throwing his hands up in the air the same way Ron did.

Ron eyed Harry suspiciously and said loudly, "Ron!"

"Harry!" Harry screamed, liking the new game.

"Ron!"

"Harry!"

"Ron!"

"Harry!"

"Oh dear…" said Arthur exasperatedly as he left the kitchen, James following suite while the two mothers looked on proudly.

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Author Notes: I am so so **_so_** unbelievably sorry for taking four months to update. Color guard just finished and I'm in my junior year of high school with a ton of homework. I'm looking for a job so I can buy a car and I'm learning how to play guitar. It's hard to find time to write but since this is Thanksgiving weekend and I'm off school I'm going to try to finish up this story and start on an L/J love hate that I've been planning for some time. Like I said I'm so sorry and I hope someone is still out there, enjoying this story.

I'm so out of practice writing HP and I don't think this chapter is good at all and the next one will be little short glimpses of Harry's life growing up, so I of course wont be satisfied with that either. I'm just relieved I can say goodbye to this Hogsmeade Kiss storyline. I've been writing like this for three years and I can't wait to start anew.

R/R!


	3. Life with the Weasleys

Summary: On October 31st, 1981, what if James Potter remembered his vision with his best friend in a ratty prison uniform? What if Remus Lupin remembered his kidnapping in the Forbidden Forest? What if Sirius Black realized the truth about Peter Pettigrew, before it was too late? What if Lily Potter never sacrificed herself to save Harry? An alternate ending written remorsefully for the readers of Hogsmeade Kiss. R/R

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JKR (aka pure brilliance) does. Don't sue me because I'm imaginative. :-)

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Screams echoed through the Burrow, causing every household member to flinch. Molly and Lily raced into Ron and Harry's room where the screams were emitting. They found Harry, red faced and bawling, while Ron sat continently on the floor playing with Harry's plush snitch. It didn't take much to put two and two together. "Ronald!" yelled Molly and Ron's baby jumped when he heard her. He looked up into his foreboding mother's face and seemed to cower slightly. "Did Harry have that first?"

At first Ron shook his head vigorously from side to side but after Molly's accusing stares he finally lowered his head in shame and nodded. "Well then, you know what to do."

Ron got onto his feet clumsily and handed Harry back the toy, patting his shoulder and saying, "I sorry, Hwarry."

Harry looked at the toy, then back to Ron and said, "Bad Ron!"

"No Harry," Lily said calmly and sternly; this was the same voice that used to cause the Marauders to flinch and obey her every whim. "Say thank you."

Harry shot his mother a toothy grin, saying, "Fank you!"

"Now that that's settled," Lily said under breath, heading back downstairs to finish up the book she was reading. Molly followed her out, scooping up a crawling Ginny as she headed to the kitchen. "Are you sure you don't need any help?" Lily asked, her hand on the back of the kitchen chair.

Smiling kindly, Molly said, "Of course not, dear, I work much more efficiently alone."

"At least let me take Ginny off your hands," Lily said. Molly smiled gratefully and handed Ginny off. Lily positioned her comfortably on her lap, summoned a toy and continued to read while Ginny sucked contently on a charmed color-changing block.

The Weasley's had been so kind to the Potter's the few months they had been staying there. James had taken Harry flying several more times along with Arthur, Charlie, and Bill. Lily, in turn, had grown out of her new mother stage and became slightly more relaxed when it came to Harry. Although Arthur had been a Keeper at Hogwarts, his son Charlie wanted to be a chaser and, since James had experience in that position, he was able to train him up (even though Charlie was already very good). In fact, they were out in the field near Weasley's home, flying right now.

Lily lifted her eyes from her book and watched the figures flying, spotting James at once with his disastrous hair and the glint of the sun on his glasses. Her mind traveled back to Hogwarts, all those Quidditch matches she watched nervously with Marissa as James and Sirius zoomed around the pitch in blurs while Remus' voice boomed out over the field.

Sighing, Lily sadly thought of Sirius and Remus. They were, well, God knows where they were at, hunting for the most wanted wizard in the world after Voldemort…the wizard who betrayed their trust and could have potentially ruined all their lives that night. They came to the Burrow every few months and stayed for a couple days. Then it was like old times, and for those few precious moments there was no evil pursuing them and all was right. Harry so looked forward to them visiting, they always had a new present from some exotic place…

A huge crash sounded throughout the house and identical twin laughter prevailed. "FRED AND GEORGE!" yelled Molly, causing another wave of twin laughter, this time Ginny joining in the symphony with tears.

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"YES!" roared James, Arthur, and Charlie while Fred and George hi-fived each other. They were all crowded around the radio, listening intently to a Quidditch match. It was Puddlemere United versus the Montrose Magpies and all people in the room were cheering for Puddlemere with enthusiasm.

They were all talking excitedly about the last play when Arthur shushed them and turned the volume knob to the right. "And Tavish takes a penalty shot for Puddlemere United on behalf of an illegal bludger hit by Beaters Parnell and Whitby that made contact with the Magpies seeker."

There was swearing from James and Arthur while ten year old Charlie yelled, "Come on lads!"

"We wouldn't be that dense," said George confidently, "Right Fred?"

"Right George!" answered his brother with a nod of his head.

James grinned a the two five year olds, who had inherited what James dubbed the Weasley Quidditch Fever and aspired to be Beaters when they were older. James thought they would be wonderful, since the duo were already star pranksters and worked great together as a team. Discretely, James had been giving them tips and advice on how to cause fun, not harmful, chaos. Sirius helped whenever he and Remus came by, much to Remus' disapproval. But, proving the strength of their friendship, he never let it slip to the Weasley's or to Lily and often corrected James and Sirius on their method, suggesting a safer one.

Sighing, James stole a glance at the clock on the mantel. They should've been here by now. It was a Friday evening in March; Sirius and Remus had written him a letter earlier that week saying they were visiting for the weekend. They had said they would be there at seven and as James stole another look at the clock, he saw it was half past.

The simple fact of the matter was James just missed his best friends. Over the past two years Remus and Sirius had visited every two to three months, bearing gifts for all the children in the household but always the most for Harry, of course.

The same little three year old came wandering into the room, holding a two-year-old Ginny's hand. James and Arthur smiled knowingly at each other while Fred and George produced a series of catcalls, which neither Harry or Ginny understood. The two had taken to acting like a couple recently, for they always held hands and occasionally Harry kissed Ginny's cheek. When Sirius had last visited he got Harry to start calling every female "babe" and although Molly and Lily quickly broke him of that habit, he seemed to forget her teachings and now called Ginny "babe" instead.

"Come here, little man," James said, patting his leg.

Harry said, "Okay!" enthusiastically then turned to Ginny. "I be back, babe." Ginny grinned and clumsily hi-fived him, then toddled into the kitchen to visit her mother.

Harry ran over to James and jumped into his lap as James said quietly, "Quidditch is on, listen for the seeker and the snitch to come out."

Smiling, Harry clapped his hands together and said, "Kwitch!"

It was one of those down to the last minute games, with Puddlemere catching the snitch and winning by a mere ten points. Harry shrieked with everyone else, then shrieked louder when Remus and Sirius appeared just as Arthur switched the radio off. "Sir-us! Raymus!" Harry yelled, crawling off his father's lap and running to them.

"Sorry mate, we stopped at the Leaky Cauldron to hear the rest of the match," Sirius said apologetically as Harry jumped around his feet. "Great game, thank God Puddlemere won, you'll have to catch me up on Quidditch things. Not one bloody radio in all of Africa—"

"Language, Sirius," Lily said with a smile as she walked into the room, hugging both of the men.

"Lillian!" Sirius said, nearly yelling as he ruffled her hair. Lily shot him a nasty glare. "Aww, I've missed those I'm-going-to-murder-you looks!"

"I expect you'll be seeing many of them this weekend, if you can't keep that language under control," Lily said simply, going to the sofa and sitting next to James. He slipped his arm around her waist and she leaned her head against his shoulder. James kissed her temple and Lily's heart fluttered. How could he still make her feel like she was sixteen?

"Ugh, just what I want to see after traveling for three days through about one hundred Apparation borders, a nice public display of affection," Remus said with a teasing grin. "Am I right, Padfoot?"

"Too right, old friend," Sirius agreed with a nod of his head, dropping a huge duffel bad. "We just won't give these two love birds their presents."

James sat up straighter, still keeping his arm around Lily and pouted, "I want my present…"

After a few more moments of taunting, Sirius and Remus doled out presents, handing Molly Bill's present to send to him since he was in his second year at Hogwarts. "You really don't have to do this, boys," Molly said, touching her hand to heart.

"Nonsense, Molly, it's the least we can do," Remus said, inclining his head in a half bow.

Sniffing dangerously, Molly raced into the kitchen "to whip something up for you two, you must be exhausted and you need your energy." Harry yelled with glee and danced around, wearing the African headdress Remus and Sirius gave him.

"Any luck?" James asked covertly to Sirius and Remus while Arthur was busy wrestling with Charlie.

Remus sighed and Lily leaned over James to listen. "We thought Africa would be it, our clues led us to Kenya, but we searched the tribes and there was no sign of him."

Sirius growled under his breath. "Dirty rat must be too much of a coward to live with wild animals in Africa. We'll have to tell you about the tigers later…"

"So where are you going next?" Lily asked.

Shrugging, Remus gratefully accepted the tea from Molly and replied, "No clue. The one lead we had turned out to be wrong. I guess we'll look around Africa more."

Lily sighed and grasped Sirius' hand, who was closer to her than Remus. "You don't have to do this, you know. There are Aurors everywhere looking for him, you don't have to find him. I'm sure Dumbledore would give you a new mission—"

"No, Lily," Sirius said gravely. "We know more about him than the Aurors, we know how his mind works. Plus we _want_ to be the ones who hand him to the Dementors."

There was a small silence, probably each person was thinking of how they had lost their best friend. But this silence was interrupted when Arthur gasped from under Charlie, "How long are you two staying, Remus?"

Remus and Sirius shared a glance and Remus said, "Well we wanted to ask, would if be alright if we stayed for a week? We hate to impose—"

"Of course not, dear!" Molly interrupted swiftly. "We would love to have you stay!"

There was a scream of terror from upstairs and Fred and George came running down, laughing their heads off. One of them was holding Arthur's wand.

"Arthur!" Molly said sternly.

Looking confused, Arthur snatched up the twin with the wand and plucked it out of his hand. "It must've fallen out when I was playing with Charlie…"

Another shriek came from upstairs and everyone in the room bolted up, Molly and Arthur leading the way. They got to Fred and George's room and saw Rom trying to crawl under a bed and hide from a large spider trying to chase him.

"_Finite Incantatem!_" said Arthur with an expert flick of his wand. The spider froze then with a small pop changed into Ron's favorite teddy bear.

Molly immediately went to her bawling son, scooping him up and holding him close. Ron clung to her as she yelled, "FRED AND GEORGE! GET UP HERE _NOW_!"

"He broke my toy broomstick," Fred said as he immediately peeked around the corner.

"Why didn't you tell one of us about it?" Arthur asked calmly.

Fred fidgeted. "Well, it just happened and you were busy downstairs, so I took matters into my own hands."

"DID GEORGE HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS?" Molly yelled as Ron screamed louder.

The other twin appeared on the other side of Fred. "I most certainly did not. I just gave him the idea for it."

"Arthur, come with me." Molly hurriedly passed Ron to Lily as Arthur sighed and reluctantly trudged after her.

Harry passed Fred and George on the stairs and came toddling to his parents, asking his mum, "What's wrong wif Ron?"

As Lily quietly explained to Harry while she tried to soothe Ron, James turned to Sirius and Remus and said, "We need to have a talk about what a playful prank is and what a harmful prank is."

"Or just tell them to not do pranks at all…" Remus put in hopefully but his friends ignored him as they discussed the best way to get through to Fred and George.

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**Author Notes: **I know you all hate me and that's no problem, cause I hate myself too right now lol. But I've had this part of the story sitting on my Word document for two weeks while I had writers block and couldn't think of how to get to the next part. I felt bad for not updating so I decided to say screw you to the three chapter alternate ending and make it a four chapter one instead. Once again, I apologize for making you wait two extra useless weeks but I figure if I try to fit this story into three chapters, it would take even longer to update. So enjoy!


	4. Horcruxes and Responsibility

Summary: On October 31st, 1981, what if James Potter remembered his vision with his best friend in a ratty prison uniform? What if Remus Lupin remembered his kidnapping in the Forbidden Forest? What if Sirius Black realized the truth about Peter Pettigrew, before it was too late? What if Lily Potter never sacrificed herself to save Harry? An alternate ending written remorsefully for the readers of Hogsmeade Kiss. R/R

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JKR (aka pure brilliance) does. Don't sue me because I'm imaginative. :-)

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"Hello, Albus!" Lily said warmly as Dumbledore stood just outside the door of the Weasley's home. "Please come in out of the cold." Lily ushered him inside as he shook the January snow off of him. "Can I offer you a cuppa?"

Smiling graciously, Dumbledore said, "That would be lovely, thank you Lily." Lily just grinned and sat him down at the kitchen table as she flicked her wand a few times to start boiling the water for tea. "Is James home yet? I need to speak to both of you," Dumbledore said as he shook his traveling cloak off and hung it on the back of the chair he was sitting in.

Lily flew a cup of tea and a few scones to Dumbledore, walking right behind the flying items. "He should be here any minute. How are things at Hogwarts?"

"Quite well, actually. Although a young girl was pulled out by her aunt the other day, her parents were killed for refusing to join," Dumbledore said heavily, sipping his tea.

Just as Lily was about to respond six year old Harry came running into the kitchen, completely out of breath. "Mum! Tell Percy he isn't allowed to ground me and Ron!"

Confused, Lily asked, "Ground you? What did you do to merit a grounding from _Percy?_"

"Fred and George told me and Ron to go and jump on Percy's bed because it was the bounciest in the house. But Percy came in and pushed us off and grounded us, after a big fat lecture," Harry said, pushing his wild hair out of his face.

Ron appeared around the corner a second later, backing Harry up by saying, "Yeah, look Lily, I have a bruise on my arm from where he pushed me into the dresser."

"And he yelled at Ginny, and she didn't even do anything!" Harry said indignantly while Ron rolled his eyes at this comment, muttering something about how she deserves to be yelled at no matter what. A few days earlier, Ginny ripped one of Ron's Cannons posters off the wall because he was making fun of her new haircut. Apparently Ron didn't think her punishment of de-gnoming the garden wasn't harsh enough.

Laughing, Lily said somewhat exasperatedly, "Tell Percy I said he is not allowed to boss anyone around, then go see Molly about it." Harry was about to run off when Lily said, "Harry, aren't you being a little rude to not welcome a guest into this house?"

Harry stood there confused for a moment before he realized Dumbledore sitting there, watching the exchange jovially. Harry walked to his elder and grinned politely and shyly, holding out his hand and saying, "Hello, Professor Dumbledore, sir. How do you do?"

"Just fine, Harry," Dumbledore said kindly, shaking the small boy's hand in return and smiling. "Pardon me for interrupting your fight for justice. Carry on." Harry looked to his mother for permission to leave and she gave him a nod. Harry made sure no one was looking then gave his mother a quick hug and ran off.

Dumbledore and Lily sat there for a few more minutes, talking about Hogwarts. Bill was in his 5th year and Charlie was in his 3rd. Percy was going to start next year and Lily talked with Dumbledore about how Percy is a very good boy but sometimes takes the rules too literally and seriously. James popped his head into the kitchen fifteen minutes later, shaking Dumbledore's hand in greeting.

"Sorry I'm late," James said to Lily, kissing her forehead and squeezing her hand. "Bagnold is working everyone to death at the Ministry. There isn't even a point for me being there because all the hidden messages we have to decode are fake anyways. And the pictures of Death Eaters meeting are just ridiculous. Ah, but anyways, how are you Albus?"

"Very well, James. I have something to discuss with you and Lily. It's going to be part of a new mission for you two," Dumbledore said.

James and Lily shared an excited glance. They hadn't been given a mission since they were attacked; Dumbledore felt it was better if they just lay low, with the exception of James going to work everyday. "Is this a private mission?" Lily asked.

Nodding, Dumbledore said, "Yes, no one else can know unless I instruct you to tell another person. You may not inform Remus, Sirius, Molly, or Arthur. Is this understood?"

"Of course," Lily said as James nodded in agreement with her. "I'll go tell Molly to keep the children occupied." She turned to James as she stood. "Arthur is still sorting out those muggle attacks in Belgium, right?"

"Yes, he won't be home until much later," James said, sitting at the table and turning to face Dumbledore. "Does this have anything to do with Harry?"

Lily stopped in mid step and turned to listen. Sighing Dumbledore said, "It will in the future. It's a way to weaken Voldemort." Lily and James shared a worried glance. "I will explain once you return Lily."

A few moments later Lily was back in the kitchen and took a seat next to her husband. Dumbledore sighed again and shifted in his chair. "Like I said earlier, there is a way to weaken Voldemort. I have been researching Voldemort's past, essentially the life of Tom Riddle before he became Voldemort. It has come to my attention that Voldemort has a way to stay alive if he is ever killed."

"What?" James asked incredulously. "No one can survive death, there is no way."

Dumbledore looked at the young couple in front of him and asked, "Have either of you ever heard of Horcruxes?" Both adults shook their heads. "I didn't think so. Well, a Horcrux is an object that contains a part of someone's soul. You see, when you murder another person, your soul tears. A Horcrux allows you to take that torn half of your soul and put it into something else and then hide it, so if you are ever killed you could still live if you had that Horcrux. It can be an inanimate object or animate one, although this is not wise because something alive can move and think for itself.

"I have substantial evidence that says Voldemort plans to make not only one Horcrux, but six, including the soul in his body. Seven is a magical and powerful number, or so Voldemort believes. My research says that he would use items of great importance to him to make these Horcruxes. I believe he will use something from each of the four founders of Hogwarts and then things from his past.

"Currently I cannot say what exact items he will use, but with each important murder he will tear a bit of his soul and put it in an item. I believe it is safe to say that on October 31st, 1981, Voldemort planned to use your deaths to make his sixth and final Horcrux.

"Your mission is to help me find and destroy these Horcruxes. They will be heavily guarded and it will be very dangerous and life threatening. But if we destroy the parts of his soul that are made, it will give Harry a better chance when he is older to defeat him permanently so he can never return."

A heavy silence filled the kitchen before Lily asked, "How do you know we, that is to say our deaths, were going to be the final Horcrux?"

After flipping open his pocket watch, Dumbledore stood and wrapped his traveling cloak around him. "I will need to schedule a long appointment with you two to explain about the other Horcruxes and the exact details of your mission. But I am running very late for another meeting. Have a pleasant evening and don't fret over this matter too much. Like I said, I will explain it better in due time. Good evening." Dumbledore then Disapparated.

James and Lily sat quietly at the table for a moment before Lily stood and began clearing up the tea things without magic. James sighed; he knew when Lily didn't use magic for something that she was scared. After her parents died he remembered she did all the cleaning and cooking the muggle way and didn't use her wand for weeks.

The sink was filling with warm water and Lily had one hand on her hip, adding soap, when James came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, his head resting on her shoulder. Lily sighed and leaned her head against his, feeling the coolness of his glasses upon her cheek. "Oh James," she breathed, "What are we going to do?"

Kissing her shoulder, James replied, "I think we need to accept it, to help Harry."

"I know," Lily said, turning to face her husband. James still kept her trapped in his arms. "But Dumbledore said Harry would still have to defeat him one day. That day could be tomorrow. He doesn't even know magic yet…"

James pulled her tighter into his embrace. "How about this, we can start teaching him the basics of magic a little early, completely in secret. He's too young to start now but I think next year we could get a head start. I know it's not much of a solution but—" He was interrupted when Lily kissed him soundly.

"That sounds fine, I just need to know he will be okay," Lily said sadly, kissing James again.

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"I had no idea they could prod a Secrecy Sensor in so many places," Sirius said, wincing as he rubbed his bum. "Security is tighter than I've ever seen."

Arthur nodded in agreement, grabbing Ron's arm to keep him from running towards a bright orange stand selling souvenirs. "There is threat of You-Know-Who attacking at every large gathering. Every single security measure has been put into place."

At first Lily and Molly were anxious and worried about letting all the children out at such a big event as this one, but after much convincing and sweet-talking from their husbands, not to mention Remus and Sirius when they had arrived, they finally caved and pushed them out the door. A few seconds after the door had slammed in their faces they could hear relaxed sighs from inside and music being cranked from the WWN with both women singing inside.

Harry and Ron were jumping around excitedly, trying to look at the Quidditch pitch where in a few moments they would be witnessing their first real Quidditch match. It was the Chudley Cannons versus the Falmouth Falcons and although everyone who was not Ron knew the Cannons had as much of a chance of winning as there was Voldemort turning himself over to the Ministry, they couldn't bear to crush his seven-year-old spirit. In Ron's mind, if he could go watch Charlie play at the school and see if Gryffindor win, then the Cannons could most defiantly win if he cheered hard enough.

James walked with Remus, Sirius and Arthur while watching all the Weasley children plus Harry jumping around excitedly, discussing play strategies and the statistics of each team. Ron had just overheard Fred and George saying the Cannons were the worst team in the league and rounded on the twins, his ears turning red. Harry and Ginny shared a knowing look and grabbed each of Ron's arms, turning him around so Fred and George couldn't flatten him when he would try to take them on. Harry comforted Ron, saying the Cannons were defiantly going to win to cheer him up while Ginny rolled her eyes. Harry hit her lightly behind Ron's back before she could make a remark about the Cannons that would send Ron's blood boiling.

Meanwhile Ron was oblivious to anything else but Harry's reassurances that the Cannons were the best and clapped Harry on the back as a thank you when he was done with speech. James smiled, Ron and Harry reminded him of Sirius and himself when they were kids, and Ginny reminded him of Lily's fun side. Harry and Ginny were very friendly and the adults had placed bets about when they would start liking each other more than friends and become boyfriend and girlfriend.

Chuckling to himself, James turned to watch the older Weasley children. Bill and Charlie were discussing other teams in the league and who would go on to the playoffs. Bill had declined trying out for the Quidditch team in school but Charlie had and was an excellent chaser. James and Arthur had taken the children to go see him play once. Harry, Ron, and Ginny had been in awe of Hogwarts and talked excitedly about when they would get the chance to go. Next year was Bill's last year, Charlie's 5th, and Percy's second.

James' eyes swiveled to Percy and saw him with his arms crossed, looking around disdainfully. Percy was so unlike the rest of the Weasley's, he did not like Quidditch in the slightest and was very tame and serious. He was a good kid, there was no doubt about that, but he was far too regimented and took the rules too critically. Once Arthur had to punish him for losing his temper and jinxing George when he had broken the house rule of going to bed by ten in the evening.

Fred and George were still goading Ron, trying to get him to mad enough to do something rash and get in trouble. The boys had good fun intentions but still needed a little guidance about taking it to far. After next year they were starting at Hogwarts and Sirius, Remus, and James planned to tell them of their Marauder history and educate them. Now they were still too young to appreciate the information and keep it secret.

The group found their seats safely and sat waiting for the match to start. Percy pulled out _The Standard Book of Spells Grade 2_ and began reading. Bill and Charlie began ridiculing Percy for reading during a Quidditch match but when that lost its fun they sat back and watched Fred and George still trying to annoy Ron. But teasing was no longer working for Ron, along with Harry and Ginny, were too excited to sit still and kept leaning around people, trying to see where the Cannons came out.

"D'ya reckon it will last longer than a day?" Ron asked, not particularly to anyone. "I remember when that one match lasted a week. It was going day and night in the house…"

Ginny snorted. "Are you kidding? The Cannons haven't won the league in 95 years—"

"Haven't won the _league_," Harry said quietly, "but they could very well win this match."

Ron looked at Harry with solemn eyes. "You are a true friend, mate," Ron said, clutching a hand to his heart. Harry shook his head in amusement while Ginny rolled her eyes on the other side of Ron. Almost as if he could sense it, Ron whipped around to her and said with narrowed eyes, "_You_ could take a few tips from this bloke, at least he knows what it means to support someone. You're my sister, you should support me."

"Oh Ronald Bilius Weasley, this isn't the _fifties_ you know," Ginny said, slapping him.

"_Don't use my middle name!_" hissed a very red-faced Ron. Harry tried hard to hide a smile.

"Why? Everyone here knows it anyways, it's not my fault you have a ridiculous name," Ginny said cheekily.

Soon this banter of taunts started a small scuffle between brother and sister and Harry, who was used to this sort of thing, simply stood and went to his father. "Dad, could I go get a butterbeer?"

Acting incensed, James asked playfully, "You want a _butterbeer?_"

Smiling, Harry said, "Yup."

"Right now?"

"Yup."

Sighing heavily, James took out his wallet and handed him quite a few galleons. "Take a redhead or two with you and buy some for everyone."

"Thanks dad," Harry said gratefully, performing the secret handshake father and son had made up. Harry signaled Fred and George to come with him and they were back quickly since they didn't want to miss the opening of the match.

James accepted his butterbeer from his son and said, "Trade seats with Ginny so you can sit next to me. I want you to tell me when you see the snitch, alright?" Harry nodded and broke up the fight between Ron and Ginny, handing them each a butterbeer and kindly ousting Ginny out of her seat, which was next to James.

Wild cheers filled the stadium as the Cannons and the Falcons came out onto the pitch. Ron sat stone still as he watched them line up and prepare for flight. Harry cheered with the rest of the crowd, watching the snitch fly out of the box and disappear. Then the match began.

It was intense for the first few minutes but slowly lost its luster when the Cannons became quickly worn out. Harry nearly tore out his hair at one point when he saw the snitch flying around for a good ten minutes before the Falcons Seeker finally realized it had made an appearance. He chased after it but it vanished once more, as if it had known it was seen. James was immensely proud at Harry's keen and observant eye.

While everyone else watched the not so exciting match, somehow the Marauders began reminiscing about past Quidditch matches they played, which then somehow led to reminiscing about pranks they used to play. Arthur listened amusingly and, unbeknownst to any of the adults, so did Harry.

"Did you really almost break your neck from playing Quidditch?" Harry asked his father interestedly. "And did you really make the whole school seem underwater?"

James grinned as Sirius gasped and said, "You mean you haven't told this boy all the amazing things we used to pull at Hogwarts? James! You're depriving your son of glorious and timeless adventures!"

"Well, Lily doesn't want to make him arrogant and bullying like I was every now and then," James said nonchalantly, running a hand through his hair.

"That's not arrogant to pull off amazing magic," Harry said simply. "What else did you guys do?"

The Marauders spent the rest of the match telling stories of their childhood to Harry and also providing him with good stealthing tips. They of course paused their ramblings to watch a thrilling play here and there when the Cannons decided to put on a burst of energy.

Cannons lost badly two hours later. Ron left with his head hanging while Fred, George, and Ginny bore I-told-you-so faces. Harry was trying to cheer Ron up and complaining about how both Seekers were idiots for taking far too long to notice the snitch while his father and his friends were talking in low and eager voices about how Harry was going to be a Quidditch star.

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A book in the Potter's bedroom rose up a few inches, wobbled dangerously, then landed back on the nightstand with a slightly upsetting thump. Harry Potter, who was eight years old at the time, huffed in frustration and looked at his mother, who was teaching him patiently. James sat in a chair in the corner, watching Harry as he practiced magic with James' wand.

"Don't get frustrated, it will be easier when you have your own wand," Lily said, walking over to Harry and placing a cool hand on his wrist. "Now remember, swish and flick." She demonstrated the motions, guiding his hand. "Try again."

Harry squared his shoulders and faced the book again, raising his chin defiantly as if he were facing a nasty opponent. "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" he said with a swish and deft flick of his wand. The book rose completely off the table as Harry guided it with his wand. It even did a few flips in the air and a little spin, then Harry landed it back on the nightstand.

"Very good Harry!" James said proudly as Lily beamed.

"It's impressive you were able to make it do more than float," Lily said. "How did you do that?"

Shrugging, Harry said, "I just thought it would be cool to make it do more and it did. I wanted to make it flap like a bird but it wouldn't do that so I just landed it."

James looked at his watch and stood. "Well, just making it do tricks on your first successful levitation is impressive. But Charms time is over, now is Defense."

Since Lily was great at Charms and James was great at Transfiguration, they each taught that respectively. They were equally good at Defense and usually just traded off teaching while the other parent sat to the side, giving tips now and then. It was James' turn to teach Defense and Lily went to occupy the chair James was just sitting in.

"Alright, Harry, we'll start practicing the Body-Bind Curse today. You've studied the magical theory behind it, correct?" James asked.

Nodding, Harry recited, "A Body-Bind Curse is a defensive hex to use on an opponent which doesn't allow the opponent to move or speak, although they can still hear and see things going on in their line of vision."

Smiling, James said, "Very good. Now demonstrate the wand movement when casting." Harry did so, causing red and gold sparks to shoot out the end of his wand. "Be sure to keep your hand steady, don't get too excited," James instructed. "Now just say the incantation a few times and, when you're ready, perform the Body-Bind Curse on me."

Harry was again squared his shoulders and let out a relaxing breath. "Petrificus Totalus…Petrificus Totalus…Petrificus Totalus…" Harry kept muttering to himself then, without warning, he lunged forward, his wand pointed at James and cast, "_Petrificus Totalus!_"

On Harry's first try his father's body froze and became stiff like a board, then he fell backwards on the ground, his eyes roving around the ceiling. Both Lily and Harry stared for a moment before Harry looked at his mother breathlessly and said, "I did it!"

"Yes, on your first try even," Lily said, still looking shocked. "No one in our class could do it on the first try." Lily shook her head slightly to clear her mind and asked, "Have you studied the counter curse?" Harry nodded slightly. "Good, try to undo it."

Thinking for a moment, Harry held his father's wand aloft and muttered the counter curse. James' muscles relaxed and he stood, sending a playful glare in Harry's direction. Harry grinned mischievously. "You are so _dead_," James said dangerously, then lightly pounced on Harry.

The two boys wrestled for a little bit while Lily watched amusingly before saying, "Okay, we should get back to teaching." James and Harry shared a secret glance then pounced on Lily, dragging her down into the kerfuffle and tag teamed tickling her. Even Lily's repeated warnings of how she was going to ground _both_ of them took no heed.

The fray ended with Molly entering, laughing at the commotion, and saying that Dumbledore was there to talk to all three of them. The family brushed themselves off and walked into the living room where Dumbledore was sitting, mesmerizing Ginny by creating a rainbow with a dancing leprechaun on top.

After each person had exchanged greetings, Dumbledore turned to Harry. "I came today to talk to you, Harry, about a responsibility you are going to have."

Looking inquisitive, Harry asked, "What do you mean, sir?"

"First I'm going to ask you a series of questions to see how much you know on this subject," Dumbledore said, then turned to Lily and James for a moment. "It's time for him to learn, please just let me do the introductory talking then I'll leave you two to explain details to him." Dumbledore turned back to Harry and asked, "Do you know who Lord Voldemort is?"

Harry's eyes narrowed and he said, somewhat tersely, "Yes."

Nodding, Dumbledore asked, "Would you mind explaining to me just what you know about him?"

"Well, he is an evil and powerful wizard which no one can take down, which I don't understand. I know mum and dad have fought him three times. I know he tries to kill a lot of innocent people with his Death Eaters and he—" Harry faltered here and looked at his parents, who nodded in encouragement. "He tried to kill my parents and me when I was a baby, on Halloween."

"Yes, that he did," Dumbledore said solemnly. "Do you know why he wanted to kill you?"

There was a silence and it seemed Harry's breath caught in his throat. "I've always wondered, I've asked mum and dad but they said I was too young to understand. I figured he just wanted to kill my parents because they kept escaping him, and no one escapes him. But I never understood why he wanted me…" Harry trailed off, raising his stunning emerald eyes behind his glasses to Dumbledore's calm and kind blue ones. "Are you going to tell me why?"

"Yes, Harry, I will try to explain this to you in the simplest ways. But first I need you to understand you will have a large weight and pressure on your shoulders. You will have to pull off a remarkable and miraculous task that no other witch or wizard has been able to do. Do you understand?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded vigorously. "Very good. There was a prophecy made before you were born. A prophecy that was about you. I would like you to hear it, tell me what you think it means, and I will then explain to you my interpretation of it."

Dumbledore reached into his cloak and pulled out a small bowl with runes carved in the sides. He enlarged the bowl and stared into it, eventually prodding the liquid floating in the basin with his wand. Harry watched in amazement as a figure with many shawls and huge magnified eyes rose from the liquid. The woman began to speak in a deep and raspy voice.

"THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES…BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT…AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES…THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…"

The figure dissipated back into the liquid. Harry was frowning, deep in thought. He looked over to his parents. They were grasping hands, each watching Harry intently. Dumbledore was also watching, his hands folded and his thumbs twiddling. "I was born as the end of July, so as the seventh month dies," Harry began slowly. "Mum and dad told me they fought him three times. So I'm the one with power to va—vanqu—" Harry said, trying to pronounce the word.

"Vanquish Voldemort," Lily said quietly, helping Harry with the word.

Harry looked back at his mother, not really seeing her. "I'm supposed to kill him?"

"Yes," James said, his face somber. "I'm so sorry—"

"Before you say that, James," Dumbledore interrupted, "Allow me to explain to Harry the situation." Dumbledore turned his kind eyes on the shocked boy before him. "You have a power, something Voldemort doesn't have and cannot possibly understand. One of you will have to kill the either or there will never be peace in the Wizarding world. Voldemort has picked you as his equal, but he has only heard the first half of the prophecy. He does not know about your secret power or of the fact one has to defeat the other because neither of you can live while the other one is still alive." Dumbledore paused, letting reality sink into this young eight-year-old boy. "Unfortunately, you are the only one who is able to defeat him, no other wizard can do it. Your mother and father have gone up against him several times and they are very powerful, but they were not able to defeat him because _you're the only one who can_."

Snapping out of his reverie, Harry said, "So this was decided for me, before I was born. I have no say in it?"

Sighing, Dumbledore said, "I'm afraid not, Harry." The young boy rubbed his eyes from underneath his glasses, trying to think of some loophole. "You said earlier that no one could take him down and you couldn't understand why." Dumbledore continued quietly. "Now you know you have this power that can get rid of him." The old Headmaster leaned forward and put a withered hand on top of Harry's. "You would be saving hundreds of lives and you would be giving redemption to every family who has suffered losses from him. You could save people."

James and Lily watched their son's reaction nervously; if he was anything like either one of them he would first explode about the injustice of the situation, then feel privileged they have an opportunity to save lives. Suddenly, Harry sat up straight and said, "I want to do it. He tried to kill my parents and me. He's killed a bunch of people. If I'm the only one, I want to do it for all those people out there. I want to help."

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "I'm proud of you." Dumbledore continued on briskly. "Your parents are currently helping me with a way to weaken Voldemort and make it easier for you to get rid of him. We are doing everything we can to help you. Now for my next question, do you know who I am?"

Harry looked at him dubiously. "Sure, you're Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. You're on the Chocolate Frog cards, I've got about fifteen of you in my room, but I think Ron's got more." James turned a snort of laughter into a nasty cough and Lily smiled humorously at Harry's simple straightforward mind.

"That's right. I'm going to ask you and your parent's permission if it would be okay to begin teaching you defensive spells a little earlier to prepare you. Not to worry, though. When you join Hogwarts, you will still be in the same classes as others your age."

Lily spoke nervously. "Well, Albus, we've been teaching him the basics of magic for a few months now."

Clapping his hands together, Dumbledore said, "Wonderful! It will make my job much easier."

"He's got a knack for defensive spells," James said, ruffling Harry's hair. Harry batted his hand away, muttering "Geroff," in embarrassment. This didn't discourage James as he just ruffled his hair more, but Lily saved her son from further embarrassment and took her husband's hand away, entwining it with her right hand and patting his with her left.

"Excellent, excellent," Dumbledore muttered, shrinking the Pensive and putting back into his pocket. "I will send you an owl with instructions of when and how to get to Hogwarts. Until then, just keep him practicing with Defensive spells, jinxes and hexes. I wouldn't continue with any other subjects besides Defense Against the Dark Arts, I don't think it's wise for Harry to get to large of a jump on his studies."

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**Author Notes:** I was going to keep going but it was getting too long. It's at twelve pages now and it's still got four more big events plus a really big event and the follow up of people after the big event. So instead of being a four chapter alternate ending, its going to a five chapter one instead.

Is anyone else impressed with how fast I updated? And did anyone else hear about the title of the seventh book? _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_. I don't know what to make of it lol, I'm just excited because it means its that much closer to book seven coming out, but it's bittersweet because it's the end. ((sniffle)) If you want to hear theories on what the title means and what the book will entail, go to mugglenet dot com and listen to podcast 69. It helped me out a lot.

R/R!


	5. The Beginning of the End

Summary: On October 31st, 1981, what if James Potter remembered his vision with his best friend in a ratty prison uniform? What if Remus Lupin remembered his kidnapping in the Forbidden Forest? What if Sirius Black realized the truth about Peter Pettigrew, before it was too late? What if Lily Potter never sacrificed herself to save Harry? An alternate ending written remorsefully for the readers of Hogsmeade Kiss. R/R

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JKR (aka pure brilliance) does. Don't sue me because I'm imaginative. :-) **In this chapter, some scenes were used from the Harry Potter books. These words and plots are JKR's and not mine, don't sue me!**

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"Checkmate," Harry said somewhat smugly, leaning back in his chair and stretching.

Taken aback, Lily looked at the chessboard, trying to figure out where she went wrong. "You must've cheated, I didn't see that coming…" Lily said in a vague sort of way, tapping various squares and pieces while muttering to herself, trying to retrace her moves.

Shrugging and buffing his nails on his jumper, Harry replied, "Ron and I made a bet on how many howlers Fred and George would get in the first two months at school. Ron lost and he had to let me in on a few of his tricks of the trade." Harry then stood and headed into the kitchen but peeked around the corner and said, "Until you can figure out where you messed up, which will take you a while since I've been leading you on for quite some time, you'll just have to be content with the fact that a nine year old just beat a 30 year old at chess." Lily flinched, she hated being reminded of her age and Harry knew it.

Just as Lily was on the verge of figuring out where she went wrong, Sirius popped in the room, his eyes panicked and his demeanor rumpled. "Sirius, what are you doing here? We weren't expecting you until next—"

"Where's James?" Sirius interrupted, looking around the room wildly, then running into the kitchen.

"Nice to see you too," Lily said sarcastically. "He's at Diagon Alley with Arthur and Ron, in disguise of course, getting Ron a Nimbus 2000 to match Harry's. Why do you need James?"

Sirius ran back into the living room and grabbed Lily's forearms, his face manic as he shook her slightly. "We found him, Remus has him bound and captive now. But, Lily, _we found him._"

Lily stood there, her mouth hanging open as she digested what Sirius had said. After eight years of searching, the man who sold the Potter's lives to Voldemort was apprehended. "I'll get him," Lily said breathlessly, running into her room.

Letting out a shaky breath, Sirius ran a hand through his hair restlessly, staring at the door Lily disappeared through. "Is it true?" a voice whispered behind him. Sirius turned on the spot and saw Harry standing there; his arms limp at his sides. "You found Pettigrew?"

Harry had known what happened that night and he always heard stories about Peter's friendship with Sirius, Remus, James, and Lily. He hated the man who betrayed his parents and himself, the man who was preventing Harry from spending time with Remus and Sirius, and Harry even refused to call him by his first name, or his Anamagus nickname. Many nights he dreamed of this man, who he had seen in pictures, mocking and taunting Harry to find him. Harry wanted to look into the face of Pettigrew and see regret and pain in his eyes.

"Yes," Sirius said quietly, "Yes, we've got him. He is going to punished for what he's done."

Man and boy stared at each other for a moment, both feeling the same emotions. Harry gave a short nod just as his mother raced back into the room, holding the calling bracelet James had made for her when she was pregnant with Harry. Lily pushed the stone in the middle and a few seconds later, James popped in the room, spinning on one foot while trying to maintain his balance. "What's wrong?" James asked loudly, whipping out his wand defensively.

"James," Sirius began, clutching his best friend's wrist, "we found Peter. We need you and Lily's help to deliver him to the Dementors."

Unknowingly copying Lily's reaction from earlier, he stood there staring at Sirius as if he had grown an extra head. "What's all the commotion about?" said Molly, walking into the living room with Ginny right behind her. "We heard yelling—"

Before anyone else in the room could speak, Harry answered, "Sirius and Remus found Pettigrew."

"They did?" Ginny asked, who had also grown up with stories of October 31st, 1981, along with her brothers.

"Molly," Lily said somewhat numbly, "Can you watch over Harry while James and I help Sirius and Remus?"

"Of course, dear," Molly said, nodding vigorously.

Harry stepped forward. "What? I'm going with you guys," he said indignantly.

"No," James said firmly, "We can't risk it."

Angrily, Harry shot back, "This is as much about me as it is about the two of you and you know it. I want to help punish that slimy git—"

"We aren't punishing anyone and neither are you," James said, his voice raising as he gave Harry a stern look. "The Ministry is going to punish him, not us."

"Don't live by revenge, Harry," Lily put in quietly, "You have to let go of some things over time. Yes, we are angry with him but it's not our place to act on vengeance and punish him ourselves. Like your father said, the Ministry will take care of that."

Harry looked as if he was going to argue more, but before he could open his mouth, Ginny said simply, "It's okay, Harry. They'll let you help with other things. There's so much evil out there you'll have plenty to do later." The two shared a long glance that was interrupted when Arthur and Ron popped in the living room, Ron clutching a shiny new broom.

"Is there something wrong, James? You popped out so fast," Arthur said, looking at James and Sirius, who was still clutching James' wrist.

Molly took Arthur's hand and pulled him out of the room. "I'll explain later. You lot go ahead and take care of everything. I'll watch over Harry."

"Come on, Ron and Harry," Ginny said, beckoning them to follow her up the stairs. Ron gave Harry an inquisitive glance but Harry shook his head, shooting him a look that plainly said, "Don't ask now." The two boys disappeared up the stairs behind Ginny, leaving the adults in the living room alone.

"I'll go get our cloaks," Lily said, heading into hers and James' room for the second time in the last half hour.

Sighing, James went to Arthur and pulled out a money pouch. "No, no James, it's alright," Arthur said, shaking his head in refusal.

James shook his head. "No, we agreed I would help pay for all their brooms." Taking no heed to Arthur's protests, James shoved a few galleons in his hand.

The Weasleys had insisted on paying most everything around the house since the Potters in their mind were guests. But Lily and James had refused and made a deal with them one of the first days they were there. James had wanted all the Weasley children interested in Quidditch to have good enough brooms to fly on at Hogwarts. Since the Weasleys couldn't afford such brooms, somehow James started the tradition of helping pay for new brooms when he bought Charlie one when he was nine. Now when each Quidditch manic child turned nine, James and Arthur went out and the child in question bought the broom of their choice and James paid for three quarters of the cost. Now Lily had made a deal with Molly to help pay for each child's wardrobe and to pay for half of the household food costs. But otherwise the Weasleys had insisted on managing on their own and even tried to refuse money the Potters gave them based on their agreement.

Lily came back a moment later and handed James his traveling cloak and slipped hers on. "I think we should take him to Dumbledore first and question him, then hand him to the Ministry," James said, fastening his cloak. "I suppose he'll be given a trial but they will surely convict him and sentence him to death."

An odd silence reverberated around the room as reality hit each person. Peter, their best friend, was going to get what he deserved after all these years. Finally, the three friends Disapparated out of the room.

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"I see, Mr. Pettigrew, or Wormtail, as your new master calls you," Dumbledore said warily, speaking to a man who had a very strong resemblance to a rat. Four other adults formed a half circle behind this man, who was sitting in a single chair in front of the huge cherry wood desk that the old Headmaster sat behind. Three of these adults were men; the other was a woman who was gripping the messy black haired man's hand. The man with shoulder length black hair looked positively livid and the other man with sandy blonde hair, streaked occasionally with grey, had an unreadable expression placed upon his face.

Peter Pettigrew had taken Severus Snape's truth potion (which everyone in the room, with the exception of Dumbledore, was shocked to find that Snape had been dubbed the title "Potions Master" at Hogwarts) and could not fight off the effects; soon he was spilling out everything about his association with the Dark Arts. He told of when and why he joined the Death Eaters, about that night in the forest when Remus was kidnapped, the real reasons he rarely spoke to his friends after Hogwarts, about the night Lily, James, and Harry were almost killed, and about his life and duties to Lord Voldemort since he fled from existence.

Each face in the room darkened slightly with every one of his tales and at one point Sirius sighed angrily and began pacing. But Dumbledore had instructed each of them not to say a word to Peter if they found him and that rule was still in place as Peter confessed everything. Snape, however, stood in a dark corner of the office and watched the scene unfold in front of him, thinking thoughts no one, except perhaps Dumbledore, could access.

"Do you ever feel any guilt, or remorse, for turning your best friends over to Voldemort—" Peter flinched dangerously "—or even for helping torture Remus to near death in the forest?"

Quivering so much that his extra chin wobbled, Peter replied, "I d-did, but I had t-t-to push it as far out of my mind as I cou-could. I made myself be-believe they deserved it for making fun of me al-al-all the time."

Sirius and James made an ugly noise of protest but Dumbledore held up his hand to stop them from speaking. Snape let out a soft snort in the back of the room. _This is the most pathetic thing I have ever experienced,_ Snape thought to himself as Peter tumbled on without thinking. _As usual._

Dumbledore picked his wand up off the table and muttered, "_Finite Incantatem._" He then took a small glass container from one of his drawers and tapped his wand against the opening. The container filled with a very faint light and Dumbledore immediately corked it so none of its light could escape. Next the Headmaster looked up at the four friends standing behind the traitor. "Please Stun and escort Mr. Pettigrew to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry and talk to Amelia Bones. Give her this recording of Mr. Pettigrew's confession. I will schedule a trial and an appointment for you to visit Mr. Pettigrew and talk to him as long as you wish." And with a nod of his head, James stunned a blubbering Peter and Lily accepted the recording of Peter's confession from Dumbledore. After Sirius and Remus had bound Peter with ropes for extra protection, they Apparated carefully to the Ministry.

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"Absolutely not!" Lily yelled, turning on James who, for once, stood strong against his fiery redhead of a wife, his arms crossed over his chest. "He is way too young! I would if Harry was older, maybe twelve or thirteen, but nine? I didn't even know _half_ of the stuff Harry did when I was nine!"

Snorting, James replied, "I'm sure you did; I actually knew more than Harry does now when I was nine. Me and Sirius eavesdropped and snuck around quite a bit…"

Speaking of eavesdropping, two boys had their ears pressed against the bottom of the door, excited to find that for this serious discussion Lily and James had forgotten to silence the room. Usually when Ron and Harry tried to find out things around the house the adults silenced the room so no sound could escape and very rarely an opportunity like this presented itself.

Lily was speaking again, her tone lighter but still fierce. "When you were a child there was no evil wizard on a quest to kill you. Harry has a huge weight and responsibility on his shoulders and going to Azkaban to visit the man who almost caused his death wouldn't lighten it in the slightest!"

Ron looked at Harry questionably, but Harry tried to ignore it. He had not told Ron, or Ginny, for that matter, about the prophecy explaining that Harry had to kill or be killed. Although Harry protested loud and often he was not too young for anything, he did agree with his parents on the fact that age was a concern regarding death and chose not to tell a nine year old and an eight year old, who also happened to be his best friends, that he was currently dead meat until Dumbledore trained him more.

"We can't shelter him Lily," James said reasonably. "He is dealing with the prophecy very well and even Dumbledore said he is improving rapidly and is not daunted in the slightest about it—"

"Probably because he doesn't understand how dangerous this is. No grown wizard has ever come close to beating him, how can a nine year old do it?"

Once again, Ron looked at Harry curiously. "What is she on about?" Ron whispered.

Harry shook his head in response and put a finger to his lips, for his father was speaking again. "Don't doubt him. Look he has for parents. We are the ones who have come closest to defeating him. Harry is just as powerful as us and you know it."

There was a silence and the sound of shuffling feet came out under the door. "Seeing Wormtail and talking to this man will help him understand the situation he is in. He needs to see the darker side of the world to understand the darker side that he has to defeat," James' voice was muffled; Harry supposed he was hugging his mum.

Sighing, Lily said, "He's still a child."

"Children in the wizarding world are more mature than muggle children. Sirius and I knew everything about everything when we were _six_. Harry can handle it, I'm sure of it."

Heart pounding in his chest in anticipation, Harry pressed closer to the door if possible. He wanted to go to Azkaban, he knew what a dark place it was and that Dementors were the guards there, but he wanted to confront Pettigrew. He had to know him. Anyways, Dementors wouldn't be as bad as everyone said they were.

Grunting, the sound of Lily supposedly hitting James' chest issued out under the door. "Fine, but if he had bad memories of this visit—"

"It will be completely and totally my fault," James cut her off. "Let's go tell him."

Ron and Harry shared a panicked look and took off as quietly as possible up the stairs and into the room they shared. They had just situated themselves doing small busying tasks when there was a knock on their door. "Come in," both Ron and Harry said at the same time.

James opened the door and him and Lily stepped in the small room. "Harry, your father and I have discussed it—"

Clearing his throat, James interrupted with, "More like spatting like cats and dogs, really."

Shooting him a glare, which Harry found amusing, as all their "fights" were, Lily continued, "And we think it would be alright if you went to Azkaban with us." Harry grinned. "But you have to understand it's not going to be a pleasant trip—"

"I know, mum and dad," Harry interrupted in a rush, "but I need to know who this man is. Thanks."

Lily and James shared a glance, then nodded simultaneously and walked back downstairs. Harry made sure they were out of earshot before he let out a breath and said to Ron, "Close one, wasn't it?"

Ron gave an excessively short nod then asked, "What were they talking about, you know, with 'the darker side you have to defeat' and 'grown wizards haven't been able to defeat him, how can a nine year old do it'?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair nervously and carefully chose his words. "I want to tell you, Ron, but my parents, and Dumbledore, told me I shouldn't and I don't think it's the right time to tell anyone right now."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Ron scrutinized Harry for a moment before replying, "Alright then, if you can't tell me now. But you'll tell me sometime?"

"Absolutely," Harry said hurriedly, nodding his head vigorously and wishing this conversation would end already.

"Fine, let's go bug Ginny," Ron said, his mind already on a new task. Harry let out a relieved sigh and reluctantly followed Ron to go torment his sister.

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"Please place all your wands, watches, and any other weapons into this plastic bin. Your items will be returned to you after your visit," said a gruff looking security guard outside the fortress of Azkaban.

As each person put items in, except for Harry who had nothing to contribute, Sirius attempted to lighten the grim mood by saying, "Sir, how are watches considered a weapon?"

The security guard just glared at him and Sirius' grin disappeared immediately. "I will escort you to Peter Pettigrew's cell. Dementors will not harm you, they are under strict surveillance. You have fifteen minutes to speak with the prisoner." And with that the security guard escorted them down a hallway and through a door with about a dozen locks on it that required various keys and enchantments to unlock.

Once they stepped through that door, every person in the group felt a sad weight on their shoulders and heard things in their head that no one else could hear. Dementors floated past various cells; some with quiet occupants, others muttering, now and then an occasional scream bursting out. Harry shuddered and grasped onto his mother's hand, something he hadn't done in a long time. Lily squeezed it comfortingly as she heard various funerals in her head, Remus in the forest, James after he was shot with an arrow, Sirius and Remus after their wives deaths, and so many other terrible moments in her young life. James heard many of the same things as Lily, only he heard Lily's cry when she was hit with a dark curse, the screams of the Longbottoms while they were being tortured, an innocent man who was hit with a deadly curse during a battle…

After a few twists, turns, and a flight of stairs, the security guard stopped in front of a cell and signaled for the Dementor to patrol another cell. The security guard left them alone and the four friends, plus Harry, stared at the man they once knew, who was huddled in a corner, shaking with fear.

"Hello, Peter," Lily said softly.

Peter jumped and looked up, more fear spreading across his face. "L-lily! And James! Oh, Sirius, Remus…I can't be-believe you're here." Peter's voice cracked and quivered pathetically. Everyone stood silent staring at the man in hatred. Peter gulped and then focused on Harry. "Harry! I ha-haven't seen you since you w-w-were a baby." He began to crawl weakly toward Harry, but Harry stood his ground. "You look just like your father, except for L-L-Lily's eyes. I bet you'll be great at Quidditch too…" The rat stopped right in front of Harry and reached his hand through the bars to touch Harry, but before he could both Sirius and James stepped in front of Harry.

"You lay one grimy finger on him, you bastard, and you wish you'd have never been born," Sirius said dangerously.

"Of course," James said, looking at the man before him maliciously, "you probably already wish that."

Gulping, Peter said in a rush, "Please, this is all a misunderstanding. I didn't betray you, it wasn't me. It was Snape who forced it out of me; you know I'm useless at fighting that off. You have to get me out of here!" No one in the room spoke. "Lily, please, you were always so kind to me, and you know I'm not a traitor!" Peter said, kneeling in front of Lily.

"Actually, you always creeped me out," Lily said, her voice even. "And don't kneel in front of me. I'm not Voldemort."

Panicking slightly, Peter turned to Sirius and James. "You taught me everything I know. You two were my heroes. Please, please, spare me."

"You sold my family to Voldemort," James said, his voice rough. "You are begging the wrong person."

"And I would've been blamed for what you did, if your little scheme had worked," Sirius said, not looking at Peter, but instead looking off to the side. "I would be in this Godforsaken place, an innocent man trapped in a hellhole."

Peter was rapidly running out of options and desperately turned to Remus. "Remus! Remus! You helped with everything in school. We were always outcasts, Sirius and James took all the glory—"

Sirius interrupted with a snort. "Change sides quickly, don't you? You were just begging us glory hoggers for a second chance."

"—and we were always shunted aside." Peter continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "You understand…"

"No I don't, I don't understand how you could participate in my torture and then leave me for dead in the freezing cold woods," Remus said simply. "You've wronged us all, Peter there's no way out. You're just a nice plump snack for Dementors."

"Harry!" Peter said suddenly, scooting so he could see around James' legs and look at Harry. "Your parents and me used to be best friends. We did everything together. You look so like your father, you wouldn't let your parent's best friend be killed for something he didn't do?"

Stepping out from around James and Sirius, Harry stood in front of the whining man in front of him. "I know everything about you, Pettigrew," Harry said, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "Once I learned how you almost killed my family, I wanted to know everything about you. You weren't a best friend, you were a sniveling excuse for a person, seeking safety under someone stronger who could protect you."

Peter started to interrupt but Harry slammed his hand against the bars angrily, which caused Peter to second guess whatever he was about to say. "After my mum, dad, Sirius, and Remus couldn't protect you anymore, you went to someone stronger who could. You are the lowest level of scum on this earth and you deserve whatever fate you succumb to." Peter tried to back away from the hatred in Harry's eyes but his cell was very small and he was only able to back up a few inches. Harry stooped down so that he was eye level with Peter. "And I promise you, Peter, that that fate won't be nice or pleasant. It will painful and you will wish with everything you are that you never did what you did. You will wish you could take it all back. But you can never take back the pain you caused my family."

"I'm sure we all see to it that you are rightly punished and we won't rest until you and every other dark wizard scum is destroyed," James said, his voice low and treacherous.

"How dare you," Lily said, her voice quivering in rage, "How dare you try to actually beg us for your life when you almost destroyed all our lives in one night. We trusted you, you were our friend."

"And now," Remus picked up, "You are nothing but a memory. Peter Pettigrew doesn't exist anymore, he died when we were sixteen."

"Only Wormtail exists," Sirius said, his voice full of disdain, "A corrupt, dark, and sad man who has no loyalties or morals. Rot in hell, mate."

Now Peter was looking at all of them, fearing what lied ahead of him. And then Harry saw it; he saw the regret and pain in Pettigrew's eyes, the look he wanted to see. But it didn't fulfill him; it didn't make him feel better. Seeing this human in pain didn't make him any happier or content. Harry realized the darker side of the world, like his father said, was no way to live by, and it scared Harry when he comprehended just how close he came to sinking to Voldemort's level to use pain to complete himself.

"Time's up," the security guard said, coming back with a Dementor not too far behind. "I'll escort you out."

And the five people left, hoping to God they never have to see Peter ever again.

¤.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸.¤

As soon as Lily, James, and Harry arrived back at the Burrow (Sirius and Remus were staying at a hotel until they could figure out their living situation since they no longer were traveling the world), Harry ran up the stairs into the bedroom he and Ron shared and burst in, jumping on his bed and burying his face in his pillow. Everything horrible about Azkaban had been haunting his mind and he couldn't push it away. The hatred for Pettigrew was like bile in his throat and it hurt to breath or swallow every time he thought about it. Harry had never faced emotions like these and he didn't know how to control them.

Finally, Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes under his glasses, pressing unnecessarily hard in attempt to force memories out of his head. He only stopped when he heard someone step in the room. Harry snapped his head up and saw Ron standing there, looking at his best friend with concern. "You all right mate?" Harry tried to walk but his throat constricted and he merely nodded. "How was Azkaban?"

This time, Harry was able to force out words. "Awful. I never want to go back."

"Well let's hope you don't ever have to," Ron said, stretching on his bed and staring at one of his many Chudley Cannon posters. "Do you want to talk about it?"

At first, Harry was going to say he was fine and he didn't need to talk about anything, but he just started spilling everything he saw and experienced, from the other prisoners in their cells to what the Dementors felt like to Pettigrew whimpering and begging for his life. "And I felt so much like Voldemort—" Ron cringed involuntarily, "—just because I felt like causing him pain. I thought that hurting him would make me feel better. Then I realized I sounded like some dark wizard and how that wouldn't make me feel better, because if it would, then how come Voldemort—" another cringe "—keeps killing? I know this isn't making much sense…"

Trailing off, Harry just stared at his hands, waiting for Ron to say something. "It makes sense, sorta," Ron said after a while. "I mean, at least you realized something about yourself, Harry. You know you can't ever hurt someone for revenge, you know. That's a great quality to have. I'm not sure I'd feel that way, like, if someone stole my broom I would beat them up."

Harry laughed at Ron's slightly bizarre comparison. "That helps, thanks mate."

"Anytime."

And outside the door, James shoved his hands in his pockets, grinned, and walked back downstairs.

¤.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸.¤

"Not the death penalty?" Lily asked dubiously. "I mean, at least he was found guilty and sentenced to life, but I thought for sure they would give him the death penalty."

"At least he will suffer longer with those Dementors lurking about," James said somewhat reassuringly, patting her hand.

"Where are you two going to live?" Arthur asked Sirius and Remus.

The two men looked at each other. "Well we aren't really sure," Remus said. "It probably depends on what Lily and James do."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

Shrugging, Sirius said, "I don't know, I thought you would want to move out and get your own place or something."

There was a small silence around the kitchen table in the Weasley home. Molly's grip tightened on her teacup as she looked from James to Lily. "I guess," James said after a while. "I mean, we have worn out our welcome here long enough."

"But Ron and Ginny and everyone will be so sad to see you and Harry leave," Arthur said quickly. Molly nodded along in agreement.

"Do you want us to stay?" Lily asked.

"We do enjoy your company, dear," Molly said warmly. "You make us feel young again—"

Lily interrupted. "You _are_ young."

Molly continued as if she hadn't heard her. "—And most of our children grew up with you two around, it would seem so strange with you three out of the house."

James and Lily shared a glance, reading each others looks to tell what the other was thinking, which wasn't unusual for them for they had been doing it since they first started dating. "We have loved staying with you," Lily started.

"And I think we would still love to stay with you," James finished. "Your kids are like our kids, I don't think we could leave that."

"Hmm," Remus said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "We could buy a property nearby here and build a house on it, that way we could still spend time with you guys."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Oh, I wish you two could stay here too," Molly said, sniffing a little. "But there just isn't enough room."

"Don't worry about it, Molly," Remus said. "We've imposed enough throughout the years."

"It will be nice to be settled again," Sirius said, letting out a sigh of relief while leaning back in his chair. But a second later the chair fell over and Sirius toppled to the ground, causing the whole room to erupt with laughter.

¤.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸.¤

"You totally cheated!" Lily said accusingly, pointing a finger at James, who sat there grinning arrogantly. "There is no way my son _and _idiot husband can beat me at this game!"

Scoffing and holding a hand over his heart, as if he had been hurt, James said, "Idiot? Excuse me, who was second in the class?"

"And who was first?" Lily shot back, moving the pieces on the chessboard around. "I had a plan, my next move was to checkmate you, how could you possibly—"

James sighed sadly, interrupting Lily's rant. "You just need to accept the fact that I'm bloody amazing and you are bloody awful."

Before James could continue basking in his own glory, Lily pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. "How did you cheat? Spill!"

Laughing, James said, "You actually think this is some kind of torture? You obviously don't know me very well dear."

And in one quick move that showed his Quidditch reflexes were still incredibly sharp, he flipped Lily on her back and pinned her to the ground, tickling her until she couldn't breathe. "This your punishment for calling me a cheater." James said simply, attacking her sides.

Lily grabbed his hands, grinning widely as she kissed his nose. "You're impossible, just like your son."

"That's disgusting," said the ten-year-old boy in question, coming down the stairs into the living room. "Out in the open where anyone could see. And how am I impossible?"

"Because you are your fathers son," Lily said, pushing James off her and getting up, holding out her hand to help him. But James got up on his own, brushing himself off and glaring at Lily.

Harry rolled his eyes, then was suddenly serious. "Can I ask you guys a question?"

"Sure, what is it?" James asked.

"Well, er, I know this random, but, I was just wondering how you two met and…and fell in love," Harry asked shyly.

Husband and wife looked at each other and James grinned. "This is going to be a long conversation. Let's all sit."

Once they were all settled, Lily asked, "Do you want to hear the condensed version or the long mushy gushy I-love-you-so-much version?"

Pulling a face, Harry said, "Condensed without mushy gushy-ness."

"Alright then, you go first James, this starts with you," Lily said, nudging him.

James closed his eyes and leaned his head back grinning. "I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a beautiful day, you know, birds chirping, bunnies hopping, rainbows shining, love ringing in the air…" and James sighed dramatically, swooning and holding a hand over his heart.

"Dad, please, I don't need those details," Harry said, disgusted yet amused.

"Okay, okay, for real. It was first year and I was getting on the Hogwarts Express. Well I was walking around the train, observing the prey of pranks for the year to come, when I ran into your mum and knocked all the stuff out of her hands," James smiled as Lily rolled her eyes. "She was absolutely gorgeous even in first year. This is before I knew how she was when she was angry or irritated." Harry laughed and Lily glared. "Anyway, like the nice guy I was, I offered her a seat in the Marauder's compartment."

Lily picked up the story. "I was so scared, I didn't know anyone and I couldn't find a compartment. Your father was very nice, except for the fact he knocked me over. I became good friends with the Marauders, but I always had a special connection with your dad. Even though he was already smitten with me, I never realized I liked him more than friends until third year.

"There was a Quidditch match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and your dad was playing Chaser. Anyway, he did some diversionary tactic type move to help our Seeker catch the Snitch but the Slytherin Beater sent a bludger his way which hit him on the back of the neck. That injury could've killed him, but it only broke a few bones and knocked him out for a few days."

Snorting, James looked at his wife and said, "Only? That was the most painful injury I ever—"

"That night in the hospital wing," Lily interrupted swiftly, continuing her story, "I realized I liked him more than just friends."

"But we were both blind and didn't realize we liked each other," James added. "It wasn't until sixth year when Sirius and Marissa basically had to force us to admit our feelings."

"This was before they were going out, by the way," Lily said. "Marissa told me she flirted with him while they were planning and she didn't know why."

James and Lily started a small discussion of Marissa and Sirius before Harry cleared his throat and brought them back to their own story. "Right, anyway, where were we?" James asked.

"We were inseparable from that moment on," Lily said, picking right up where they left off. "A lot of obstacles got in our way, though. Snape tried to break us up; he was jealous of James and liked me, and after we were engaged we broke up for a while over something stupid, I don't even remember what it was…"

Thinking, James said, "I think it was something about Quidditch, and tutoring. But it doesn't matter, it only lasted for a day, I believe."

"When did you guys get engaged?" Harry asked.

Both Lily and James smiled. "Beginning of 7th year," Lily said. "It was so romantic. He turned my room into a garden and then snuck me out onto the grounds in the middle of the night. There was some spell where we were able to walk on the lake and he proposed to me in the middle of the lake. Then we stood out there for too long and the spell wore off and we fell into the lake in the middle of September."

James laughed and said, "That was so hard to do, I had to go talk to Dumbledore about how to make that spell work." James turned to Harry and asked, "You know that sunset lily in our bedroom?" Harry nodded. "Well that was one of the flowers in the garden and it's a magical flower with a mushy gushy symbolism behind it."

"Why did you want to know, anyways? Not that we mind retelling the story of our endless love for one another," Lily said dramatically, throwing her arms around James.

Harry looked extremely nervous and stood up quickly. "No reason!" he said far too brightly. "Thanks for sharing, I need to go, er, clean my room."

Without another word, Harry ran upstairs and a second later Lily and James heard the door slam shut. They sat in silence for a moment before they both said at the same time. "He likes Ginny."

¤.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸.¤

June…

"Here are all the spell books we get and here is the cauldron and all the ingredients for potion making and here is my wand!" Harry said excitedly, showing the other Weasley children willing to listen his school shopping adventure with his parents. He hadn't gotten his letter yet but his parents wanted to take him on a private trip, plus they remembered what a first year needed. "Holly, eleven inches, supple, has a single phoenix feather tail in it."

Harry declined to tell them what Ollivander had said about the core of the wand, that the only other wand he ever sold that contained the feather from the same phoenix belonged to Voldemort. "And mum and dad got me an early birthday present, an owl!" Harry pulled the cover off the owl cage and revealed a snowy white owl, it's amber eyes looking at the Weasley children gathered around Harry' stuff. Harry let her out of the cage and she flew up and landed on Harry's shoulder. "I named her Hedwig."

Ginny reached out and stroked Hedwig's feathers. "She's beautiful."

"Come along now, we have to go visit Aunt Marge," Molly said, peaking her head around the corner.

All the Weasley children groaned. "Mum, please, she smells like liverwurst!" Fred said, slumping his shoulders.

"And she has a really hairy lip, which she insists on kissing you with!" George added.

"Aww, but Ron loves Aunt Marge's kisses!" Ginny said, pinching Ron's cheek. Ron glared angrily at her.

Molly snapped her handbag shut and put her hands on her hips. "I don't care, go find Percy and get your shoes on. She's expecting us any minute now."

A few minutes later all the Weasley's with the exception of Arthur, who was at work, Bill, who was in Africa working for Gringotts, and Charlie, who now lived on his own and was trying to get into working with dragons, which caused Molly to faint when she heard the news.

Soon, the house was completely empty, the only occupants being the Potter's. "Go put your school things away, Harry, then we can play Gobstones," James said, pulling the book Lily was reading out of her hands so she could play too. Harry nodded and toted all of his things upstairs, coming back down a second later to see the board set up on the coffee table.

An hour or two passed with the family playing Gobstones, Lily finally winning every game. They were just about to call it quits when they heard a pop in the front yard. "I bet that's Arthur," James said, starting to put the pieces away.

But the Potter's knew something was wrong when, instead of someone opening the door, the mysterious visitor said, "_Reducto!_" The door was blasted off its hinges and a cruel, high-pitched laugh filled the Burrow.

Lily screamed. James stood and shouted. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—" Lily nodded, tears in her eyes. She grabbed Harry's hand and ran up the stairs, stumbling along the way, and burst into Harry's room. Lily could hear his cackle, so high-pitched and evil that it sent a shiver down her spine.

"Please God, please let us make it, please God," Lily prayed over and over again. But deep down she knew they wouldn't make it. No one defeated Voldemort.

Downstairs, James stood in front of one of the most evil sorcerers that had ever walked the planet. His small red eyes were staring at James and a cynical smile placed on his lips.

"Bastard," James breathed. No words were needed as Voldemort and James circled each other dangerously. Hate was dancing in James' eyes, fueling his drive to murder the man, no, _thing_ standing before him. Voldemort seemed to play along with James' game, looking bored, as if there was no doubt in his mind that he would triumph tonight.

"Would you like to bow before me first, or do you want to put up a noble fight, like your own weak father?" Voldemort said, almost bored.

"_Crucio!_" James said, channeling all his hate in his wand. Voldemort shielded himself and the spell bounced back to James.

James felt white-hot pain piercing his body and they wouldn't go away. Voldemort let the spell off many minutes later and James lay on the floor, sweating and gasping.

"So much like your father," Voldemort said cruelly, "_Imperio!_" Voldemort said. James closed his eyes and fought off the spell.

Voldemort looked taken aback. "This is your last chance. Join me, and you and your family lives. Fight me, and you die, along with your pitiful wife and son."

"No way," James said, his voice deep with anger and his eyes blazing a fiery red. "_Avada Kedarva!_"

The green jet of light shot towards Voldemort. _Come on,_ James thought. The light drew nearer and Voldemort's eyes widened. But it missed. The curse flew just over his shoulder.

"Goodbye Potter," Voldemort spat. "_Avada Kedarva!_"

The jet of light seemed to move towards James slowly. Memories flooded through his mind. The green light hit him in the chest, and James gasped. The air was getting colder as James slowly fell. And with one last final breath, James fell hard on the floor, his eyes looking up, staring without seeing. No laughter or love was dancing within them. Voldemort laughed cruelly and stepped over him, heading up the stairs.

Lily had tried to Apparate with Harry out of the house but Voldemort put Anti-Apparation wards around the house so they couldn't escape. She tried to open windows but they were seemingly glued shut. Lily began to weep, sliding down the wall. "Please God, help us," she prayed. Harry watched his mother fall apart, his heart beating in his chest, knowing it was the end.

Then they heard those fateful words coming from Voldemort. They heard James gasp and fall to the ground. They heard Voldemort laugh and make his way up the stairs. Lily sobbed louder and Harry turned and stared at the door in shock. "Dad? Dad's gone?"

Shaking, Lily pulled Harry to her and held him close. "Yes, yes he is Harry. Listen to me, you do whatever I tell you to. Don't let him get to you. Understand?" Harry nodded, clutching his mother. He didn't get to tell his dad goodbye.

"I love you, mum," Harry whispered and Lily let more tears slip down her face.

And then Voldemort walked through the door, stepping into the room. "Stay behind me," Lily whispered, pushing Harry behind her and blocking his form with hers.

Voldemort looked at the mother and son pathetically. "How touching," he said maliciously. "Let me have the boy and you will live," Voldemort said simply.

Lily shook her head. "Not Harry! Not Harry! Please – I'll do anything –"

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!" Voldemort said lazily.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

Voldemort began getting more impatient. "Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside now…"

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead! Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy…" Lily begged and pleaded.

"Enough!" Voldemort roared. He pointed his wand just beneath her throat. Lily looked him directly in the eye, tears still cascading down her face. She would not be afraid, she had to save Harry. She had to make this monster regret what he had done to her family, her friends, everyone. "You will pay for your foolishness. Say goodbye to your son." Lily raised her chin defiantly.

"_Avada Kedarva!_" Voldemort hissed. Lily screamed. Lily felt cold sweep her body. There was little life left in her. Lily was still screaming as she saw Harry crying, looking at her in horror as he watched his mother die. _I love you, Harry._ And in that second, she was gone.

"Your turn, Harry Potter," Voldemort said. Harry dropped beside his mother, moving her hair out of her face and trailing his fingers down her arm. "I've searched for nine years, trying to find where you had gone. You were supposed to die on Halloween in 1981. Now you can't escape me." Tears leaked out of his eyes as Harry stared at the face of evil, scooting as far away as possible. "Don't worry, you'll be with your pitiful mother and father soon."

Harry's hands roamed behind him and finally found his wand behind him, and Harry thrust it at Voldemort, ready to fight, the small hope within him that maybe, just maybe, Harry could defeat him. Voldemort's cold laugh told him otherwise. "You think you can defeat me? You haven't even begun school yet."

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry shouted, ready to prove him wrong. But Voldemort merely deflected it and used Harry's own spell against him, catching Harry's wand in his other hand.

Voldemort pointed his wand to a defenseless Harry's forehead, smiling manically. "This has gone on for too long. Enjoy your last moments." Harry raised his head high; willing to die like his mother and like how he knew his father must've died. "_Avada Kedarva!_"

The green light zoomed towards Harry, who closed his eyes tight. It hit him in the forehead and Harry yelled in pain, his eyes still closed, as his body scooted back a few inches on the ground from the impact. But the green jet of light still hung in the air, connected to his forehead. Voldemort looked at it, perplexed. The jet formed into a ball of green and began spinning. The green ball grew larger and turned red, screams of past victims emitting from it. Then the ball turned a deep brilliant shade of gold.

Harry opened his eyes in a quick blink. The golden ball zoomed towards Voldemort, hitting him in the chest. Voldemort gasped and flew backwards on the ground. He began twitching and screaming. "Nooooo!" he moaned as Harry watched in terror as this evil wizard's body slowly disintegrated into dust. Just as the screams died away and his body had almost disappeared, his soul leapt out of his body and zoomed away to a destination no one knew about.

Then there was silence throughout the Burrow, one of those silences that seemed like it was screaming in your face. Harry tried to shake off his shock and crawled to his mother, laying her flat on her back. "Mum? Mum, are you okay?" Harry couldn't believe she was dead, there was no way. Maybe now that Voldemort was gone she would come back alive.

But Harry slowly realized, as he stared at her lifeless green eyes that he had always known to sparkle, that his mother really was gone.

Collapsing onto her body, Harry sobbed, hugging his mother's form tight. "Don't leave me, I don't know what to do, don't leave me…"

Wait! Harry sat up suddenly, a ridiculous thought coming to him. He didn't see his dad die, maybe he was just unconscious, and maybe he was okay. Regretfully, Harry left his mother and toppled down the stairs, sliding to his father's form spread eagle on the ground. "Dad! Dad! I know you're awake, you're fine, dad!" James didn't respond and once Harry got the courage to look into his eyes and see no joke dancing within them he realized that his father had been killed also.

Harry had to get away from all this, but he was too scared to leave. _Voldemort's probably out there waiting for me,_ Harry's mind thought illogically. So he did the only thing he could think of and ran to the closet, shutting himself inside and letting shock, sorrow, and fear consume him in the darkness.

¤.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸.¤

"Really, Fred and George, turning her teacup into a mouse, just as it was at her lips, and then getting a warning from the Ministry for underage magic! Wait until your father hears about this," Molly said, opening the door to her home with her children behind her. "Now, you two go to your room, I'm going to start dinner. Ron, go get Harry and Ginny, find Lily, I think I'll need her help with this one."

Molly was just getting out her cookbook to see just how to make the roast beef, when Fred and George came running back into the kitchen, panic on their faces. "Oh my God, mum, you have to come in here…" George said, his sentence concluded with Ginny's scream from the living room.

The three of them rushed into the living room and Molly let out a shriek of terror as she saw James' form spread eagle on the ground. Molly knew he was dad, she remembered finding her brothers Gideon and Fabian the same way. She looked around the room, seeing a shocked Ron holding a crying Ginny while Fred and George just stared at James, their prank mentor.

"Lily?" Molly called quietly at first, then shouted, "LILY!" There was no response and Molly ran up the stairs, looking in all the rooms until finally stopping in Ron and Harry's room where Lily lay on the ground, completely motionless. Molly collapsed against the doorframe and put two shaking hands over her mouth. Ron came upstairs after his mother and stopped dead, staring into his room. Still in shock, he went over to Lily and shook her to see if she was just sleeping. "D-Don't, Ron," Molly mustered.

Ron turned to his mother and seemed to shake out of his alarm. He helped Molly up and helped her downstairs, where Ginny was still crying. "Fred and George," Molly said weakly, "run to Sirius and Remus' house and tell them to come over straight away. Then use their fireplace to contact the Ministry and get your father." The twins nodded and took off running. "Ron and Ginny, I need you both to snap out of it and find Harry. He has to be here somewhere…"

"M-Mum," Ginny said tearfully, heaving afterwards. "What if he's dead too?"

Molly shook her head. "No, he isn't, I can feel it. Look for him." Ginny and Ron got up and began searching while Molly slumped down on the couch, her head in her hands.

Ginny had just looked under the kitchen table and opened the closet door, gasping as she did so. Harry was in there, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees as he stared at the wall, his unfocused eyes streaming with tears. "Oh, Harry," Ginny said quietly, kneeling down next to him. "Harry look at me, please," Ginny begged quietly, shaking him and snapping her fingers in front of his face.

Finally, Harry looked at her and said, "He killed them, but somehow I got rid of him. He's gone, Gin." And with those words, Harry fell forward, unconscious, on top of Ginny just as Sirius and Remus burst in.

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"Alright, Fred, George, and Percy, make sure you help Ron and Harry get a compartment," Molly said, hugging each of the boys as the train whistle blew, signaling all students on the platform needed to hurry. Sirius and Remus were on a small mission from Dumbledore and couldn't see Harry off on the train.

"Sure mum!" Fred said jovially. George hit him and pointed across the platform, muttering something. "Yeah, alright. Sorry mum, Lee's got that giant tarantula he was going on about last summer."

"Don't worry, we'll watch over ickle Harry and Ron this year," George said, receiving a glare from both of the boys in question.

Before Molly could scold them, the twins trotted off. Sighing wearily, Molly said, "Percy, the burden is yours, but I know you'll do a fantastic job." Percy puffed out his chest proudly, his prefect badge gleaming, and Ron rolled his eyes. Harry tried to grin, but he found it extremely hard to do so. "Now Ron and Harry, I want you boys to careful and _please_ don't get in trouble like Fred and George. Be good," Molly lectured, trying to rub a spot of dirt off Ron's nose with a handkerchief.

"Mum…geroff…" Ron said grumpily, batting her hand away.

Molly sighed and gave each of the boys another hug, squeezing Harry extra tight. "Have fun, dear, it will be a great year," Molly whispered in Harry's ear.

"I will, Molly, thanks," Harry said, hoarsely, speaking for the first time today. The train whistle blew again and Percy began carting Harry and Ron off. "Bye, Ginny, see you at Christmas," Harry said to the redhead who stood next to Molly.

"Yeah, see you," Ginny said a bit sadly; she had complained all morning how she wanted to go to Hogwarts with Harry and Ron.

"Don't worry, Gin, we'll send you something from Hogwarts, like a bit of toilet paper or something," Ron said, but shut up quickly when he saw the look on his mother's face.

The train began to move and Percy, Ron, and Harry hopped on as quickly as they could with huge trunks and two owls. Molly waved from the platform and Ginny chased after the train, trying to keep up with her brothers and Harry, who were still hanging out the entrance, waving and laughing at Ginny running.

After their long goodbye, Percy cleared his throat and looked around the train, his nose in the air. "Well then, I'll be in the Prefects compartment for most of the trip, if you need me. There are probably only compartments open in the back, so I would head there first. Fred and George will pop in regularly to make fun of you, no doubt, but if you need anything you know where I'll be." And with that Percy strode to the nearest compartment and stepped in.

"Big load of help that lot is," Ron said crossly. "Come on, I guess we have to do this on our own." Harry merely nodded, deciding talking would be too painful.

As Ron and Harry walked down the aisle people stopped and stared, groups whispered and pointed, and people in compartments pressed their faces to glass excitedly and somewhat fearfully. News of what happened a few months ago had spread like wildfire and everyone in the wizarding world had celebrated the defeat of an evil and seemingly unstoppable wizard. Harry had not celebrated, but now it seemed everyone knew his name and considered him something of a hero.

"Harry? Harry Potter?" asked what looked like a second year with a slight accent. Harry looked at him strangely and nodded. The boy held out his hand and Harry shook it, noticing everyone around him was staring. "Cormac McLaggen, how are you?" Before Harry could answer, Cormac continued. "Listen, I was wondering, what did You-Know-Who look like?" There was silence as everyone listened intently and Harry felt his blood turn cold. "I mean, what did it look like when he, you know, died?" More silence. "How did you defeat him?" Yet more silence and McLaggen scoffed. "You know, it's rude not to answer someone, didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?"

Just as Harry felt his heart start to rip all over again, Ron stepped forward and snapped, "Didn't anyone ever teach you it's rude to ask prying and painful questions?"

"Well, he probably didn't even do anything if he can't answer me—" McLaggen began, but was cut off when two voices from behind him shouted something and a jet of red light hit McLaggen in the back of the head. Suddenly, his face began flapping as if there hundreds of bats on him. McLaggen let out a very girly scream and ran down the aisle, showing Fred and George laughing with their wands in their hands and Lee Jordan standing there grinning with a box clutched in his hand. Gradually, other people began to laugh too and retreated back into their compartments, learning not to ever question Harry about what happened in June.

Harry had enough of people questioning him about what happened, Sirius and Remus had both done it, then Arthur, then Dumbledore, and after that Ron had. Ginny never asked though, but Harry told her everything willingly and Ginny comforted him best she could.

Ron and Harry kept making their way back, both of them thanking Fred and George when they passed them, and finally found an empty compartment near the end of the train. They helped each other with their trunks and sat down, letting out a breath of relief. "Well, we know who to watch out for now. That McLaggen lad was a git." Harry simply nodded in response, his usual method of communication these days. Ron's eyebrows furrowed, trying to think of a way to bring Harry out of the shell he cocooned himself in. "What are your picks for the Quidditch World Cup next year?" Harry shrugged. Clearing his throat, Ron tried again. "From the past season, it looks like the Cannons might have a chance."

Snorting, Harry said, "Sure, the Cannons would have a chance, if all the other teams were mysteriously poisoned."

Growling slightly, Ron said, "Watch it mate. Seriously though…"

Even though the subject of Quidditch was painful to Harry, it reminded him of his dad, he continued to discuss it with Ron because it felt good to talk and have fun with his best friend. They only paused when the food trolley came around. Harry bought quite a bit of everything and Ron watched enviously, now and then looking at his corned beef sandwiches with disdain. "Have a chocolate frog, Ron," Harry said, pushing a pile of sweets his way.

Ron shook his head. "Nah, it's alright, I just hate how she forgets I hate corned beef."

Pulling out his own sandwiches, which had bologna between the slices of bread, he pushed them across to Ron and held out his hand. "I liked corned beef but I hate bologna, and you hate corned beef but like bologna, so swap."

"You've had mum's corned beef," Ron muttered, but traded anyways. "I really liked Lily's ham and turkey subs—"

Feeling like a complete idiot, Ron immediately shut up at the horrified look on Harry's face as he stared intently at the chocolate frog card in his hand. Ron cleared his throat nervously again and asked, "Want to see a spell Fred and George taught me to use on Happers?" Harry shrugged and Ron felt like hitting himself; he had _just_ got him talking. Ron pulled out his old battered hand me down wand and opened his mouth to put a spell on Percy's old rat when the compartment door opened and a round-faced boy accompanied by a bushy haired girl with overlarge front teeth peeked in the compartment.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," the girl said, her voice containing a very bossy air. Both Harry and Ron were just about to tell them they haven't when this girl spoke again, staring at the wand in Ron's hand. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then."

The girl sat down, staring intently at Ron, while Ron looked nervous. "Er—all right." Clearing his throat, Ron said, "_Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow._"

Ron waved his wand and nothing happened. The rat lay there, sleeping peacefully. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" the girl asked. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard—I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough—I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

Hermione said this all so fast Harry and Ron stared at her for a few extra moments in attempt to process what she said. Harry felt his heart sink a little; he hadn't even looked at his course books. Of course, he knew some defensive spells, but that was only because Dumbledore taught him.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered a little shame facedly.

"Harry Potter."

"Are you really?" asked Hermione. "I subscribed to the Daily Prophet as soon as I knew I was witch and once I knew it existed, of course. I know all about what happened to you, or at least whatever the Prophet wrote. There is also a new edition of _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century _re-written just to incorporate you. Of course, I bought the new one immediately and re-read the whole thing. It gave a lot more information than the Prophet ever did." Before Harry could really respond to this new information, Hermione continued in a rush. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

She left without another word, astonishingly enough, and once she was gone with the round faced boy in her tow, Ron turned to Harry and said, "Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it." He angrily put his wand back in his trunk and began muttering about the fake spell the twins gave him.

Not a moment later the compartment door opened again, but this time three boys stepped inside. One was pale with blonde hair plastered on his head and the other two were on either side of him. They were very large and looked like his personal bodyguards. "Is it true?" the pale boy asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," Harry said, getting extremely sick of all the attention he was receiving. But Harry thought it best not to snap at this character, the two boys on either side of him looked like they were ready to kill.

The pale boy noticed Harry eying the bodyguards. "Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle. And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." Ron coughed, but Harry knew all too well he was hiding a laugh, and this time he did not pull it off very well. Malfoy shot him a rude look. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasley's have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

Draco Malfoy turned to Harry and said quite arrogantly, "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry ignored it and said coolly, "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks."

A pink hue appeared on Malfoy's abnormally pale face. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," Malfoy said slowly and dangerously. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys, and it'll rub off on you.

Harry and Ron stood up; blood's boiling at the insults thrown at their defenseless families. "Say that again," Ron said, his face matching his hair perfectly.

Malfoy sneered. "Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?"

"Unless you get out now," said Harry bravely, although looking at Crabbe and Goyle he decided this fighting probably wasn't a good idea.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Goyle stepped forward and greedily reached to take some sweets, but before Ron or Harry could do anything, Goyle yelled and swung around haphazardly; Happers had a hold on Goyle's knuckle and had sunk his teeth in quite deep. Sweets were flung around as Goyle danced around while Malfoy, Crabbe, Harry, and Ron tried to avoid being hit. Finally, Happers was flung off his knuckle and his rat body hit the window hard while Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle ran off.

A second later, Hermione Granger was in their place. "What _has_ been going on?" she asked, looking at the destruction of the compartment.

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry as he picked Happers up off the floor. "No—I don't believe it—he's gone back to sleep." Setting Happers down really roughly, Ron turned to Hermione and asked, "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Happers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at both Hermione and Happers. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"All right—I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, running up and down the corridors," Hermione said with an air of being above such child like past times. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all sorted into Gryffindor, and Hermione became best friends with Harry and Ron after they battled a troll on Halloween. Hermione excelled at all subjects, Ron struggled with his wand, and Harry was pretty average at everything, except Defense, which he excelled in, even more than Hermione. He was horrible at Potions and Snape for a teacher didn't make it easier. Harry got many detentions with him for reminding him of thing his father and his friends did to him at Hogwarts, which got the whole class laughing. Private lessons with Dumbledore continued, this time Dumbledore teaching him not only defense, but also other aspects of magic that he was not allowed to share with anyone. Harry discovered the Mirror of Erised and refused to leave its side because he saw his parents in it; eventually Dumbledore shipped it away. The trio learned of the Sorcerer's Stone and thought Snape was trying to steal it for Voldemort. After getting past many obstacles such as a three headed dog, the Devil's Snare, flying keys, a giant Chess game, helpful and poisonous potions, and, not Snape, but Professor Quirrel and Voldemort, Harry had once again defeated Voldemort and rescued the Sorcerer's Stone, which was destroyed. At the end of the year, Dumbledore told him sorrowfully that he could no longer live with the Weasley's or Remus and Sirius, but had to be sent to live with the Dursley's because it held magical protection for Harry. Although Harry, the Weasley's, Remus and Sirius protested, there was no going around it and Harry had to live with relatives he hardly knew, who treated him rotten all summer.

In his second year Sirius inspires Fred, George, and Ron to rescue Harry from the Dursely's and Sirius gets in trouble with Remus for it. Harry writes to Sirius for information and advice on the Chamber of Secrets, the basilisk, and his ability to talk to snakes. After Harry unknowingly destroyed a Horcrux and saved Ginny's life, Ginny began to realize she liked him more than friends.

During the summer before his third year, news broke that Peter Pettigrew escaped from Azkaban and was out to find Harry. Sirius and Remus told him that he was probably trying to kill Harry because of a mission from Voldemort. Remus became the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, surprising the Weasleys plus Harry and Hermione. Dementors guarded the castle and Harry found he had an extreme weakness to them. Remus quickly taught him how to perform the Patronus charm to defend himself. Peter was found in Harry's dorm room one night but disappeared after Ron saw him and woke the room by screaming. Hagrid's pet hippogriff, Buckbeak, hurt Malfoy during a class and was almost executed, but Hermione illegally used her time turner to stop it from happening. Afterwards, Peter lured Harry, Ron and Hermione into the Whomping Willow and Peter almost killed them all, but luckily Remus contacted Sirius and both of them came into the Whomping Willow and captured Peter angrily. But once they were outside the full moon came and Remus began to turn into a werewolf. Sirius had to let go of Peter to secure Remus and get the Trio to safety. The next morning Remus resigned his post as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Harry was rescued from the Dursley's earlier to go to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasley's, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione in the summer before his fourth year.

In his fifth year Harry is rescued very early from the Dursley's by a team of Aurors, including Remus and Sirius. They go to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, where the Weasley's are also, with the exception of Percy who would not acknowledge the family. Sirius is not present most of the time for he and Remus have a secret undercover mission. Sirius is taken as a joke, along with Dumbledore and Harry, for stating his belief that Voldemort is back and is fired from his job as an Auror and Dumbledore tells him to lay low and stay in the house because now there are Death Eaters targeting him also. After Sirius dies, Dumbledore tells him about Horcruxes and how is parents were helping him obtain information and trying to find them before they died. He says next year instead of learning magic in their private lessons they will be exploring Horcruxes.

In his 6th year during the summer, Harry realizes he likes Ginny but is too shy to ask her out, plus he thinks Ron will murder him. Harry refuses to even let Cormac McLaggen try out for Quidditch because of what he said to him in his first year.

Harry's seventh and last year of childhood would contain many obstacles and dangerous adventures, ending in the ultimate battle of the Wizarding World.

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**Author Notes: **How did you guys like it? I know you all hate me for killing them off…but I think Harry needed to go through the books on his own instead of his parents there. I tried to make him the same kind of person we're used to but since my heart wasn't really in this story, his character is probably off a little bit. Eh, oh well. I also rushed incredibly through the end because I have been working on this for six hours straight today and I decided not to write this scene with Dumbledore questioning him and with Ginny comforting him, but I might add it in later. Now I'm just relieved to completely and totally done with Hogsmeade Kiss.

At the end, I was going to do a summery of Harry's years at Hogwarts but they were way too long, so I just showed the summery of his first year and just wrote what is different in his other years. Sorry if I confused anyone, it's a crappy ending I know but I didn't know how else to end it. Suggestions?

Sonnish na mara: Thank you so much for your review. I know there are many typos ((bites nails)) but usually when I'm done writing them I'm so sick of that chapter that I just post it without editing. I really appreciate your comment about me not using any American words. I am American but recently I've tried really hard to write British and, incidentally, talk British (which confuses all my friends when I say "knickers" or "blimey" because they don't know I write fan fiction). Now if you were to go read my first story, Hogsmeade Kiss, you would find a lot of errors, cheesy writing, and complete American slang. But once again, I appreciate your comment, I've worked really hard at being British, especially spending a lot of time on the Harry Potter lexicon site reading the British dictionary and watching the show Extras, which stars British actors. Enough of my rambling, bottom line of this is thank you!

R/R please!


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